Moving Still Sucks

When I started this blog four years ago I didn't realize that it would turn into a chronicle of the constant upheaval that has marked our lives for the last few years. A quick look at the archives reveals over twenty posts labelled "moving", and reading through them brings back such strong memories that the stress hormones start racing through my blood all over again. I thought this time would be different because we had a nice house picked out and we were moving somewhere familiar and cheaper. Plus we weren't dragging things out over several days or weeks and Mr. Fob actually still has a job.

Well, I discovered that moving is never fun. This move was a little less painful than others, but more in the way of ripping off a band-aid rather than peeling it slowly. Still hurts. Friday morning we picked up the moving van and loaded it up. That morning actually went pretty well; we had a lot of people show up to help us load the truck and clean our apartment. I was so grateful for the help and don't think I would have made it through the day without it. Then my mom and I got in the car with the kids and Mr. Fob got in the truck with our stuff and we drove as far as Winnemucca. The drive wasn't too bad, but slower than we expected due to construction and rain. We stayed in a nice hotel in one of the biggest rooms I've ever seen. I'm glad that Friday wasn't too bad because Saturday was worse. First of all, I-80 is under construction all the way across northern Nevada. Neither of the kids slept at all during the entire day. We discovered that Wendover has no decent restaurant options and so had McDonalds for lunch per the kids' request. Then there was massive accident near Tooele that completely shut down the freeway. At that point I was already starting to lose it, so at my mom's urging I drove on the right shoulder for a mile past parked semi-trucks to get off the interstate and take the back roads around to Lehi. Thankfully that worked and I managed to get to our new home only about three hours behind schedule and with my sanity not completely gone.

In the days since we've actually spent a lot of time visiting friends and family and running errands, but I've managed to get a few rooms unpacked. It's been great to be here with family and friends again and we feel good about our decision to move here. The house is nice and big, but with some of the quirks that older homes have. Like an assortment of light switches with no discernable purpose. And a bathroom covered in pink and black tile. Apparently the people living here before us didn't do much cleaning or taking care of things, and even though the managers are good at helping out we'll probably be more proactive about making this a cozy home. It's still a little unreal to have an entire house and yard to take care of.

The biggest challenge for me with this move has been my incredible fatigue. Plus being tired makes me cranky, so I'm hormonally cranky and tired cranky all at once. My poor kids. We've instituted 'quiet time' in the afternoon because I can't get through the day without a nap. We haven't actually told them straight out that we're having a baby yet, but I think they're figuring it out. Either that or mommy managed to leave all her energy behind in California.

Comments

Jenny said…
I read about that accident and wondered if you guys got stuff in the traffic. I'm sorry you did.

But thank goodness for being here and having space for your kids to get out some energy! Maybe once you're more settled and less exhausted we can play. And by play I mean you and I can sit on the couch and take deep breaths and try and keep our crap together while the kids (hopefully) play nicely together even though they know full well their mothers are functioning with limited capacity.

My other discipline idea is to get a water gun and start squirting the kids when they misbehave. Do you think that's less or more damaging than yelling?
Courtney said…
Just reading about that drive makes me feel stressed and a little nauseated. I'm glad you made it eventually!
Earth Sign Mama said…
Hey, squirtguns work fabulously with cats; they might work with kids! It would probably be a real mood changer--instead of being cranky and fighting with each other, they would be laughing and squealing and having fun...little knowing that mom was involved in a major stress relieving, secretly aggressive, activity.
Th. said…
.

We'll check back with you next week?
Desmama said…
I didn't realize you were already here! I'm glad you are, but I can't imagine how exhausted you must be. I hope you find time to take it easy. When I'm down in that area, I'll get in touch.
Kengo Biddles said…
Can I just say "Moving ... BARF."

I hate moving. I'm glad you're in the unpack stage at this point.

And that massive accident, with the FedEx truck with LIVE AMMO in a burning trailer? (Exploding periodically!) Yeah. That's not a massive accident -- that's a man-made natural disaster.

Glad y'all are safe.
Sposita said…
I hate moving, too - we've been here for the longest we've ever been and I am NOT looking forward to moving again.

Also - if you like Mexican food, there is an AWESOME restaurant a little outside of Wendover - exit 4 on the Utah side attached to a gas station. I think it's a Sinclair?

For when you come back to CA to visit. ;)
skyeJ said…
yay! glad you made it. Sounds like an epic road trip. At least you didn't leave your checkbook in the hotel room and forget a stuffed animal there and then pick up an old hitchiker and then drop him off in Boise and then have someone get stuck in a trashcan at a rest stop and then lock your purse and car keys in the trunk and then have the car die in Baker. :)
Kristi said…
Moving's such a pain. And, for some reason, I think that the unpacking's the worst part. I stress about putting things in the "right" place the first time, and have a hard time planning it all out. I can't even imagine dealing with the craziness of moving + 2 young kids + being pregnant. That sounds exhausting.

And good luck with those light switches! I've lived in our house for 4 years and still mix things up.
Cheryl said…
When we moved the other way (to the Bay Area), I had a 3 1/2 week old (#4). I totally know what you mean! We stopped in Elko on that one.

When we moved back, we were lucky to have some moving expenses from the new job --so we hired one of those trucks where we pack it and they drive it.
Soooooo worth it.

Moving's hard, though --no matter what. But I'm not sure which one's worse, yet --a newborn, or pregnancy. Probably pregnancy!

Glad you made it safely, though. :)

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