We made it to LA and we are exhausted. When I tell you I feel like a walking zombie, I mean it. I have experienced every emotion on the planet this past week and my brain is so confused that I don’t know how to feel anymore. The physicality of moving is no joke and every muscle and joint still aches. Today I have already taken a nap but could use another. I am happy to be crammed in a rental studio in my mom’s building with all of my pets. Everyone is here and we made it.
I started packing up things weeks ago. First I started with books and holiday decorations slowly making my way through the house. I thought I was way ahead but man was I wrong. As we got to the rooms we use often (bedroom, bathroom, kitchen) the packing started to take forever. Every day I would pull things out on the counter, pack everything up, and then repeat the next day by pulling more things out. Where does all the stuff come from? Truly I don’t understand how two people can accumulate so much crap in three years.
Marco didn’t take any time off, except for the two days that we drove to LA, so I was in charge of packing up the majority of the house. I have written before about the struggles of living somewhere with no family and this was another time when I really missed them. The last time we moved my mom and grandma came over almost every day to help pack. They brought us dinner and sat around the living room wrapping items in bubble wrap and labeling boxes. This time I managed to get it done but three days before the actual move I was laying on the floor saying “I don’t want to do this anymore” over and over again. It’s simply just too much for one person to do alone.
Last weekend, Uhaul dropped off the first pod for us to pack up. Marco did that by himself and it took the entire afternoon to Tetris the pod full. Our plan to pull just a trailer was unrealistic but adding a pod to the plan ended up working well – so far. After the pod was packed panic started to set in. We had too much stuff, not enough space for shipping, and we were running out of time.
Monday through Wednesday was a blur of frantic selling, donating, and throwing away more and more items. I was moving from the time I had my coffee to when I showered before bed. The only time I took for myself was an hour to do yoga on the deck one last time on my last day in KC. During the time we lived in that house, especially during the pandemic, I did yoga weekly. When the weather was nice I would do it on the deck under the trees. Somehow a breeze would always blow by when I needed it the most and I would spend an extra few minutes at the end watching the sky. When the wind would blow the leaves would flutter and if the sun was behind them it would look like glitter in the sky. It was my favorite thing to watch and I will miss it deeply.
I cried the second I laid down on the mat. It was the first time I was still in weeks. My body was heavy, finally getting a minute to relax and my mind was calm for the first time to fully process everything going on. I wept a deep snotty cry, stopped while I moved, and picked right back up with more crying when I was still again for savasana. Through my tears, I thanked the house and the beautiful woods for keeping us safe over those years and guiding us to our new home. When I finished crying I was ready to move on.
In our final hours, we finished packing the Uhaul trailer that we planned to pull behind my car and we didn’t have enough room for everything. The important items made the cut but some plants, a bench, and a miter saw were left behind. Thursday morning we were off.
With two 14-hour days in the car, I tried to be productive and write but I needed a break. I was numb from everything and zoning out to music and playing mindless games on my phone was exactly what I needed. The cats anxiously meowed about 50% of the drive but overall everyone was great. We broke up the drive by spending the night in a cabin at a KOA campground in Albuquerque, which I highly recommend. The cabin was nicer than a hotel and a better price since most hotels charge a steep pet fee. We both slept better having our Uhaul parked right outside our cabin and with the campground being locked at night. Can you imagine if the trailer was stolen in the middle of the night at a random hotel in Albuquerque? I would have officially lost it.
During the last week thoughts like “I should record this for content” and “I need to take a picture for Instagram” popped in my head a lot. Every time I decided against it. I wanted to be present and feel the feelings that came along with everything. I ran my hands along the wavy wallpaper, watched the deer walk through the backyard, and Marco and I sat in the driveway together gazing up at the stars. I’m grateful I chose to take in those moments because they are now the memories I have and I remember every detail about them fully.
Now that we are here every one is adjusting just fine. Our clothes are packed in the back of the Uhaul (oops), so we did a little shopping to get us through this next week. I feel good about everything that has happened in the last week. The only thing that I still am thinking about is how I will never see that house again. Sure we can visit KC and walk the neighborhood but I won’t be able to walk in and see what has changed. Once we move into our new house I am confident I won’t even really think about this but right now it feels weird. It was odd to leave the house and leave it set up the way I designed it since the buyers bought most of our furniture. It’s all just weird!
Today, after I send this newsletter out, I am headed to the farmers’ market and plan to distract myself with ripe tomatoes and lots of melons. Don’t forget it is tomato season, right now!! Get ‘em while you can. We are set to close on our house here in a few days and until then I will be enjoying a little bit of a break from the chaos.
Against All Odds, Crudo e Nudo Has Created a Sustainable Restaurant Busines *👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 Crudo e Nudo has been on my list for a long time, can’t wait to eat there now.
What Can Fancy Feast’s New Restaurant Teach Us About Ourselves? The cat-food company is ready to nourish mankind.
How Quarter Sheets Conquered LA, One Pan Pizza and Slab Cake at a Time
Don’t Sleep on Sheet Cakes *Sheet pans rock!
One of my favorite things about Kansas City was Big Mood Natural Wines, and the owner Richard. If you are in KC, stop in, buy some wine, and support this shop. It rocks and I have discovered some killer wines from their wine club.
We binged season two of Dead and Gone on the drive. All about unsolved disappearances and deaths of dead heads back in the day.
Ready for Marco to start taking care of me like this.
If you have ever lived in the midwest, go read through this account’s tweets. Every single one is gold.
I don’t need to tell you to eat at In-N-Out, I just wanted to tell you that I ate at In-N-Out the second we crossed the California border.
Back in March, I came back from Paris with plantar fasciitis. It’s better but still bothers me daily. I ordered this contraption to help me stretch out the back of my legs and all those little spots around the ankle and it has helped tremendously. We have both been using it a ton after our long car ride. You need one!!
Have a relaxing Sunday, we all deserve it! And go eat some melons!
Talk to you next week, Xx M
you did it! Now the fun begins of making the new house home! Moving is such a stressful thing but you survived, now time to thrive. Miss you, love you!
Congrats on making it through the move! Really loved your description of saying goodbye to your yoga routine with nature at your home during the pandemic. Very beautiful.