Junk Drawers

June 8, 2017



I had a yoga teacher several years ago who described the hips as the "junk drawer" of the body. That phrase has been circling in my mind and my body for the past month as I sift through the junk drawers in prep for our move and deal with the stress that seems to be accumulating in my hips. Emotions are high around here right now. The first of three pack-out dates happens tomorrow and I am not sure we are ready.


We have lived in this house for five years and that seems to be adding to the pain of this current move. Two additional years (we usually move every three) in one spot means not only an increased density in those junk drawers (and closets), but also longer friendships and deeper roots. I used to foolishly think that I would eventually get the hang of moving internationally on a regular basis, but I realize that will never really happen. Yes, I have a reliable set of packing lists that continue to serve us well and yes, we now have access to way more information courtesy of the internet and facebook groups. But similar to
childbirth, the process is always labor-intensive and there are multiple stages with increasing intensity. And now that we have older kids, moving has taken on a heavier emotional weight. It is so hard to see the kids navigating all of the uncertainties and angst that come with uprooting,especially during these intense teen/tween years. 


I just need to keep breathing, keep sorting, and keep emptying out the junk drawers. 
The Jiu Jiu said...

For most of my life, we were a Foreign Service family. Dad did an amazing job of maintaining stability, repeatedly violating the unwritten (but often enforced) "no more than two years Stateside" rule to ensure school wasn't too badly disrupted & hearts weren't too badly broken... but "goodbye" is still high on my list of dirty words.

I don't (can't) know all the details, but I do know the pain you're feeling over leaving "home" -- and I know those two extra years didn't help, but that it would probably hurt nearly as much without them. That's because everything in life has a price, and the pain of the goodbyes is the cost of the amazing wonderful fantastmagorical adventure of living (really living, not touristing) in different parts of the world. There are little pieces of who I am scattered over four continents and, looking back, I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm sure that when the dust has settled and you've reached that day when all of a sudden you realize you're "home" even in your "new" place, you'll (once again) have that same feeling.

I've looked forward to your posts during your time here in the DMV (these days my family's scattered over the landscape between Olney & Silver Spring) because they've helped me build a list of local places to go & things to do that I've somehow usually not heard of, and will miss that -- but there's a part of me that's jealous over your upcoming new adventure in Japan. Tanoshinde tanoshimu (Thank you, Google Translate), or, as I spent so long saying, ¡buen viaje!

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