Peterson Family Update #691-E

I don't have a clever title yet again for this one.  This is a statement of being kind of piece today, because I'm genuinely finding it difficult right now to be creative in the midst of all other things.

• We're still plugging along.  We're almost completely packed, weirdly enough.  It's getting to the odd scraggly bits, where there's not enough to comprise a full box of one particular category, so they start to blur a bit, just to get them in a box and out of the way.  By this point, too, we're tired.  That means that our discretion in what we're keeping gets fuzzier and the tetris-ing skills start to slip a bit here and there.  We've managed to purge out a LOT of stuff--if I had to put a number on it, I would say around 20 garbage bags worth of stuff that we've donated, pitched, or sold.  Effectively, that means we've also unpacked that much stuff.  Now we're set up to value more of what we have and organize things in our new house in such a way where everything will have a clear category and home to return to. 
• I am warming more to the excitement as we go--sorting out some of the details makes it more real for me.  By contrast, Andy feels that it's less tangible in some ways because we're hammering out some of the larger ideas and it's out of the dreaming state in some ways.
• We've started listing out a bit what are some of the unexpected benefits of our new place.  For example, we can actually have a dedicated silverware drawer at our new place, instead of retrofitting another space to work in that capacity.  Woo hoo!  I expect this to turn into its own blog post as we work things out.
• If all goes according to plan, we should be pretty much done with packing at the end of this week.  Just in time for Andy and I to hit the road for work.
• Onsites on this particular subject that I will be teaching are always a flavor of interesting, so while I'm looking toward the adventure with some anxiety, I'm also excited for the adventure and for spending some time with Jason and Wendy in Austin, Texas. We were spitballing a couple of ideas the other day, and I'm excited to see how things come together.   If there are any "must sees," feel free to mention them.
• At the same time I'm in Texas, Andy will be in Pennsylvania the first week and then in Wisconsin the next.  He'll at least be coming home for the weekend, but that definitely accelerated our packing agenda.  

We're getting there, though!

• So as we're already tackling many, many details of finalizing the purchase and moving into our new home, we received word that our car is officially totaled.  On the one hand, it was better we find out this way than taking the word of the first assessment only to be screwed over later.  It wasn't the news that we wanted, but at least it was an answer.  
• Now we're hunting for a new car in addition to all else.  Having lost a week with the erroneous first assessment (long story), Andy and I came to the idea that we either wanted to put something together in a week or wait until after the house--there just wouldn't be much that we could do from out of state or otherwise take many phone calls in the middle of presenting.  
• On the whole, anxiety is ebbing and flowing in some interesting ways.  I'm oscillating between feeling like I've actually got a good handle on things and then feeling completely unprepared and inadequate the next.  I trust that everything is going to work out--I really do--but in the same breath, I'm trying to ensure that anything that can be prepared in advance is tended to as best as it could be.  Any preparation that I can do beforehand is, theoretically, less that I will need to do when my energy is limited upon my return on that Friday, where we immediately turn around and start moving some of the things we don't want the movers to move into our new space (and my plane will leave at 6AM, meaning I want to be there by around 4AM).  My energy reserves are expanding, but I know better than to assume they'll still be there.  
• At some point, I'll be able to make that flip, to go from "Prepare ALL THE THINGS" to "Things are what they are now."  Soon, but not yet.  
• Also on my mind is the knowledge that Busy Season at work is coming up in short order.  I do not relish the idea of starting into that already tired.  This means that once the house is squared away, I will only be able to think about a week at a time out.  
• On the plus side, Hawaii is at the end of it in October. 

I could use a little boring for a while.  I'm still not juggling all of the different pieces I feel as well as I should be, but I'm trying to remind myself to show at least a bit of the grace I would show someone else.  

At least Sprinkles is mostly packed