Moving: The Ultimate Test for Mind, Body, and Spirit

I am completely depleted. My back is sore, my old hip injuries have flared back up, and my legs and feet are just plain exhausted. After our recent vacation, I had forgotten what bone-tired feels like, but I was reminded yesterday. And Saturday, for that matter. Why? One word: moving. Although we even got movers this time around--which I highly recommend and which TOTALLY changes moving (I'll never move again without them!)--it is still one of the most mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausting things that I've done recently.

But there's also a really wonderful, fresh-start, life-is-changing type of feeling that comes with moving, and that's the part of it that I love. The clean bathroom, the new kitchen, the newly arranged rooms, the new spaces to make your own, these are the fun parts of moving, the parts that you can't replicate unless you move. And the best moment of all? The feeling that you get when you arrive in your new place, with all your stuff in boxes on the floor, you have this empty space that is completely yours and you can do anything you want with it--that's the exciting part.

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The not so exciting parts that we experienced this past weekend? Annoying, small moments of disappointment (nothing as horrifying as our last move, don't worry!) such as opening a box to find a very special, favorite wine glass shattered (sigh), going back and forth for an entire day about which room should be the bedroom (trust me, it was obvious, but Ben wanted to "think outside the box" and "do something unconventional," hehe), and having my hand smashed behind a couch when rearranging our new livingroom (me, holding my red, crumpled hand in the air: "OMG that hurt! Why did you smash my hand like that? I think it's broken!"). But my all-time favorite quote of the day? While grabbing a quick lunch in our new 'hood and talking about the move, this conversation:

Ben: Well, at least it's over. We're moved.
Me: But it's not over! Now we have to actually move in and unpack all of the boxes.
Ben: Not really, I find that if you leave them, the boxes just kind of take care of themselves.

Yep, he said that. And for those of you who can't read between the lines? I always do the bulk of the unpacking and decorating. But, I guess that's part of the classic male, female dynamic. I care about having our books on shelves, our pictures up, our artwork hung as soon as possible, and as long as Ben has arranged his kettlebells (which he did right away, see picture below), he's good :)

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The moral of the story? We're finally moved into our new space. Residents of Virginia and no longer living in DC. A two-minute walk to Tranquil Space Arlington. A 10-minute walk to Potomac CrossFit. We have DOORS to separate our bedroom from our living room, and we have a washer and dryer in the apartment (my dream come true!!). We're slowly making our way in the world...

And with that, I'm off to unpack a few boxes before I walk down the street (!) to teach the noon class at TSA. What I'm most looking forward to today? Taking a class tonight so that I can stretch out my poor, moving-sore body. And then walking home afterward :)

Namaste!
Mary Catherine