Now I know there was no need to pack as the movers were taking care of this, but I couldn't help myself, every time I would head over to the new house, I felt the need to take random essentials with us - legos, umbrellas, bottled water... if it was sitting around and would fit in my shopping cart, I would take it. Strange, I know... but I felt the need to do "something".
Something also included my trips to IKEA. Having rented our old place partially furnished, we knew we'd need to get some big ticket items like a couch, bed frames, mattresses, guest bed and a few more things. So despite my immense dislike of DIY furniture, off I went to IKEA. With Josh handling the kids, the first visit was all me - there was no way that our marriage can survive IKEA with children, this is the places where divorces happen. Unfortunately, being solo meant that I could only handle so many things and so with two shopping carts in hand I knew I'd have to go back for some more of the big items. But it was at least a start and after 5 1/2 hours, I no longer had the patience for any more...
Two carts was all I could manage on my own... only could mean one thing, ANOTHER trip!!
My second trip was with some friends and in addition to the joyousness (is that a word??) that is IKEA, I also had the privilege of my first real moto ride (a separate blog entry about that later). And once again, several hours were spent in the spacious bounds of the devil's spawn that is IKEA. But at least I had good company with me to waste away the day with...
In the meantime, our handyman, Dominic, was busy taking down old lights, filling in holes in the walls, removing cabinet doors, fixing faucets and painting some rooms. The progress was night and day. It's amazing what a little elbow grease and paint on the walls can do to a place. It was starting to feel like home, our home.
For those that saw it before we actually moved in, they saw the potential right away. While I trust mine and Josh's judgement, it is still always nice to have a little reassurance along the way that we made a good decision on this move.
So while most things have gone in a positive motion, we of course, had to have a bump or two along the way. The bump is Telefonica...our local cable/internet/phone company. I suppose there could have been worse bumps in the road like furniture breaking the move, precious items being lost, etc, but those that know me, know that without the internet I not only can't work, but I can't really function. I almost forget what life was like before we had the internet and can't fathom what I did with all my spare time. It's an addiction, I know...
But regardless, Telefonica has been, expectedly, the thorn in my side during the moving process. They not only cut us off 4 days too soon, but as I write this (5 days after the actual move), I still have no cable or internet... there will be more on that later as this entry is about the days BEFORE the move.
As we settled down for our last night before the move, I couldn't help but reflect back on the 2 1/2 years we had on Carrer de Ventalló. It was the start of our time in Spain, a time when everything was new to us, where we had to learn to use our survival skills in a totally different way, and where we lived for the most part, pretty comfortably (albeit slightly cramped in only 1200 square feet with no closets or storage space). It made me once again recognize that while I was sad to be leaving this place that we've called home for the last 2 1/2 years, that I had no remorse about leaving and that home is where my family is and that this is just a structure. I remember it being so hard leaving our house in Attleboro because that was our home (and still is) but over the course of time I've realized that we can really make anything home as long as we are together.
So on that note, we're looking forward to the move and starting a new chapter in our lives. We're also looking forward to all the new space including guest quarters - hint hint!!! More soon!!
Besos,
Julie
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