Moving Update: Take 3

We’re moved!

Well, mostly.

Despite the heavy breathing and fevers and coughs of Covid, we had some masked up, socially distanced, antibody carrying helpers come and load up our heavy furniture. Everything was transported to the temporary home and we spent all of Friday putting dishes in cupboards and food in the pantry.

Friday night was our first night in the new place. The girls loved it! It took them a while to settle, but eventually they did. Oldest is very excited about having her own window that lets in the sunrise. She said it was just like Little House on the Prairie. Youngest has been running around like a maniac. You know how a yappy little dog, after being forced to submit to a bath, will run and run and run and run as if to protest the indignity of change? That’s what we’ve been dealing with.

The house is beautiful! One of my frustrations with the house in the mountains was the lack of windows and natural light. I always felt slightly claustrophobic, closed in by the house and the trees on a mountain that took 15 minutes to get down in any direction. Not here. This house is open and airy, with sunny windows ensconcing the dining room and providing a perfect place for reading and writing! The view overlooks a cemetery in one direction, our church in another.

It also definitely has its quirks. I’ve never lived in a house with radiators before. And oh my word… The sounds they make! At one point last night, it sounded as if a third person was in my bedroom with me and my husband, standing next to the bed… just breathing. I opened my eyes in the darkness, seeing nothing and expecting the sound to vanish as the dream faded. It didn’t and I lay there sweating, facing an invisible, mouth-breathing assailant until I realised it was just the house hissing and settling. Unsettling, is more like it! And of course, our ever adventurous youngest has already locked herself into a bathroom. There aren’t doorknobs and the handle sticks. She has a tremendous sense of humour, however, and laughed the whole time she yelled for us to come rescue her.

I’ve found the perfect little writing nook. The window at the top of the stairs overlooks the cemetery and an old chapel. The window is low and the mid morning sun makes this corner sooo warm and lovely. It’s like moving into a Brontë novel!

This is a big adventure, and also a blessing. How often does one have a chance to live in such a historic house and be able to walk to church every Sunday? And there’s nobody else I’d rather do this with than my husband. He’s so calm throughout all this and I, in my scattered, foggy state, could not imagine trying to tackle this move without him.

We still have stuff to move off the mountain. Fortunately Robert’s on his spring break and we can transport all the odds and ends in the back of my car. It’s a restful move, as I still feel like I’ve been hit by a bus with Covid. Robert’s one of those obnoxious lucky people who felt sick for four days and then rallied. I started to rally… but the bus reversed and hit me again.

I’m thankful that the move is almost done! There’s light at the end of the tunnel and it’s not an oncoming train! Thank you for going on this rollercoaster with us.