So where have you been, Fly?

I've been a bit busy, capable of insufficient thought or leisure for a real post. Moving Day had arrived.

Tuesday was a big deal packing and hauling and even more packing. Wednesday was the day the movers came and the furniture went.

It's wonderful how inadequate a professional can make you feel. For several weeks we've been bringing small items over: lamps, our dishes and clothes, small appliances, books and books and books and BOOKS! (Look at me, I'm in tatters!) We moved all the food on Tuesday. In between there was all the electrical upgrading that had to be done before we could move in, the appliance replacement, tons (or is that gallons?) of painting - still in progress... It has felt like trying to walk up a hill of quicksand.

Then the movers showed up with their truck at eight am Wednesday. This truck was BIG, friends - they could have set up all of our furniture inside it in the same layout and let us move in there. We shook hands, gave out some bottles of water, and the two guys went to work with gusto.

Everything was inside the house by 11:30.

That's a whole living room, bedroom, and most of our den - plus some random boxes we couldn't fit in either car - and all papers signed and carbon copies sorted. Less than four hours, and part of that was the 15 minutes' drive to the new place. So yeah... my ego, it is bruised. But we had a choice: hire movers, or hire painters. Ladybug and I figured that it was easier and cheaper to fix a painting mistake than to replace a smashed television or coffee table.

Good call. One particular piece took an hour for four of us to wrestle upstairs: a large cabinet for the TV and related electronics that we dubbed the Concrete Armoir. The two movers handled it like it was made of wiffle. Rugs were rolled and tossed off the second-floor balcony to waiting arms, and whisked off. Neither TV nor coffee table was smashed. There was an antique piece whose odd protruding legs made it impossible to drive over ourselves: they handled it with no difficulties.

Afterward we ate lunch made from our recently-relocated food, on our recently-relocated dining room table, in our recently-repainted dining room... and waited for the cable company to attach the necessary wires at the pole to get the computers, phone, and tv up and running.

Villa Diptera is now a going concern.

Small addendum - it's incredible to me that at this time last year we were hammering out last-minute wedding details and hoping that our security deposit for the apartment would clear. From there to this has been amazing. Wednesday night was the end-of-day routine: sorting unpacked boxes, then switching off the lights and locking up - only in our own place. We weren't going home after this to do more packing and cleaning; we were home already. I was filled with a great thankfulness for everything we've been trusted with.

It also occured to me that one of the big things about gratitude is that it doesn't just look back, but looks forward as well - part of being happy about the house is looking forward to having many years there. But even if I die on the way home tonight and never set foot in the house again, it does not diminish my gratitude.