One week after the move

One week ago today we were in the chaos of moving. I say chaos because that’s how it felt even during the weeks up until the move. We made multiple trips from one house to the other with carloads of “stuff”. And even though we had two moving trucks and a crew of workers, we still would not have moved most of it that day if not for the help of some dear friends who went out of their way to make those trips with us. They loaded their car and put things away and helped pack and shoveled the drive (it snow/rained the day of the move) and so much more.

Never underestimate the love of friends. They are a priceless gift from God.

Of course, having a house full of boxes and the furniture in place and the food in the fridge and the beds made was about all we could handle after the movers left. It took two more days back to the old house to clean up all of the cardboard and smaller things left behind.

Never live in a house for 34 years…or if you do…be ruthless in your decluttering and do it often!

While hubby went back to clean up the old house, I worked nonstop fixing up this one. I managed to almost finish the kitchen by the time he got home. But I still can’t find a casserole dish and I realized that my previously larger kitchen was too full and this one will not hold everything. Time to sell or donate more “stuff”. But then again, they are just things, right? We don’t need nearly as much as we think we do. However, I did manage to work too hard, and my body has been rebelling ever since. The pain in my hands is the hardest to handle as I, of course, use them for everything.

Never push yourself beyond what you know you can handle. Perhaps we can get away with that when we are young and healthy. Not so much when you have fibromyalgia. Live and learn, yes?

In the midst of settling in, things seemed to be going pretty well. I mean if I could tell you all of the ways God met every need, the list would be long. But of course, nothing is perfect, and the third day here, the water conditioner/softener woke us at 3 a.m. Thankfully, it was nothing serious, and the serviceman who came was very informative and kind.

The fifth day here, we discovered that the refrigerator was freezing our vegetables. We have yet to figure out how to lower the temperature. Apparently these models have this issue.

The sixth day here, we discovered the biggest of the problems. I couldn’t understand why I kept waking up cold in the night. The temperature had been good until that day. But when we saw the thermostat, we knew the furnace wasn’t working correctly. We thought it had been fixed that first day, but though they worked until 8 p.m. that night, there was still no heat. It failed as soon as they left. Thankfully, they stood by their work and came the next day and replaced every switch! (They had already replaced the heat exchanger.) So we now have a practically new furnace. Not without cost, of course, but still, we are grateful for heat!

Never assume that a new home will be without issues. It is unfortunate that our inspector didn’t impress on us that we might need a new furnace rather than just having it serviced. Another lesson learned.

A week later, we still have addresses to change. (Most are done.) We finally got most of the boxes out of the living area, but I still can’t find things that should have been put upstairs but are probably buried in the basement under piles of boxes yet to be gone through. And it appears that the movers were not careful with a box marked “Fragile” because two items inside were broken. Ah well. They are only things.

We are super grateful for this house, for the view, and for the one-floor convenience of everything. But I still feel like I’m living in an Airbnb. Our son told us it takes a month to feel like home. Perhaps it does.

All in all, I’m happy with God’s leading us here and am finally back to work on Eve’s story, which is due in less than a month. It will be the first book I’ve completed in a new house.

Be blessed.

~Selah