On Moving and Moving On
My mother always said “a move is as good as a fire.” This was hard won wisdom, as we moved a lot when I was a kid - like six times in 10 years—the first being a major downsize from the mid-century modern house she and my dad built and raised six kids in for 15 years or so. She found moving stressful, but she was also a pro. The church friends would show up early in the morning with their trucks and station wagons and laughter, and there was always a big pot of chili in the crockpot that could be easily moved from the old place to the new to feed the crew. And then, in the evening or the next morning, we’d return to the old place to clean. I mean scrub the walls from top to bottom, and scour the cabinets in and out: really clean like people seldom seem to do today. As an adult, I’m now in the midst of my 12th move, in my 5th city/state/ province . We’ve upsized and downsized, and upsized, and are downsizing once more as, after nine years of renting, we finally purchase our first home