Tonight the great kids bedroom sharing adventure begins. Well, ok, not really begins, but we are going to have a trial run this evening. We're watching a friends daughter and she'll be sleeping in Evie's room so Evie is going to *try* sleeping in Briton's room with him. I'm not really sure how this is going to go. When we move into the new house the plan is to have all the toys in the playroom so they don't get distracted (Briton has been known to stay up well past eleven just playing in his room) but since we haven't moved and Briton's room is FULL of toys, this should be interesting.
These last few weeks of waiting are going to be rough. On the one hand, I am itching to jump in. To paint and sand and pull out counter tops and put in new appliances. I dreamed two nights ago of sanding floors. SANDING FLOORS! What kind of dream is that? (although, it's probably better than last nights dream in which a friend was having bread delivered daily to her house and went on vacation for a few months without canceling so there was a mountain of locally baked challah blocking her front door)
On the other hand, I like to sit lazily around of an evening, watching TV, reading books, doing nothing. And just the thought of hauling everything we own across the street fills me with dread. I hate moving. I mean, I don't mind the part about new places and new things, I'm an old hat at that by now. And on that end this move won't be that hard. But I really hate actually moving. I hate packing and unpacking (although that will be limited, it will more likely be loading up laundry baskets and hauling them down two or three sets of stairs-depending on the floor they start on- and hauling them back up two or three sets of stairs-again, depending on the floor. At least three sets of steps are inevitable- two sets down from this house, one up to the other) I hate the lifting and the finding piles of dust bunnies and forgotten dinosaur legs behind furniture. And I really hate the chaos. I like things to be orderly. They don't have to be perfect. Well, I like them to be perfect, but I'm a realist, as long as doors and cupboards are shut I can handle hidden mess. But I like things to be in there place. And, as I've said, I have moved enough in my life (a lot!) to know that it's going to take a long time to get things back in their place.
On top of the move, the prospect of having an undone house is a little unnerving. We've always had undone houses, but after two years of renting an already remodeled house, I've gotten used to things not needing work, and that's about to change. Like I said, I'm ready for it, but it also means that it will be even longer before things are in their place, because who knows how long it will take for there to be a place to put those things.
Still, I'm making headway. I have an entire notebook full of lists. The order of rooms to be painted, the order of DIY jobs to be done in week one, week two, week ten. A list of all the things we need when we take a Uhaul up to Ikea, a list of paint colors to buy from Lowes. Lots of lists. They will probably all go out the window when we close and dive in headfirst, but it makes me feel better.
And I'm making a dent in the sewing department. Both book cozies are done. Trow pillow are made for each kids bed, half of the duvet covers for their room have been purchased and I have the beginnings of a plan for some interesting window treatments for them as well. Can you cover roller shades with fabric? I guess we'll see.
I will make it. The next two weeks and three days will pass and we'll have the house, and then the month after that will pass and, organized or not, ready or not, we'll be out of this house and living, as best we can, in the new one. Because the next family is coming, so we have no choice. And in another month or two or year or two after that, we'll be moved in, painted, sanded, applianced, landscaped, finished. or close enough so that we can once again have lazy evenings and weekends. And probably, when that day comes, if it ever comes, we'll look back and wish we had more to do, because that's just the way we are. Nuts.