Packing, Repacking, and moving it all around

We are almost at the one year anniversary of the flooding of our house. That single event changed life in a way that I can't even quite put my finger on. Here we are at that mark, initially thinking we would be done remodeling by now, and of course we aren't. This past weekend, a storm blew through which sounded a lot like last years. The lightning and rain kept me up Saturday night as I remembered how fast the water came in to the house just a year earlier. Sunday morning, we surveyed, and although it didn't get high enough to get in the house, it did soak our driveway area reaching into the shed. We again had wet stuff, some ruined, some sitting around drying out. One of the boxes that got soaked was full of our marriage books. We are trying to dry those out, but they are pretty wet and wavy.

That was pretty much the last straw for me. It was time to rent a storage unit which we did promptly. This week we have been repacking, reorganizing, cleaning out, and moving stuff to the unit. It is so much easier to function with less stuff lurking all over the place. I have had just about enough of feeling like I live on an episode of Sanford and Sons! Stuff....everywhere...building supplies, materials, doors, lumber, even a toilet adorn our overhang. A toilet...yep...out of one of the bathrooms...sitting outside. There has just been no place to put everything so it is literally everywhere! (For someone who can't function in disorganization, this experience has been quite trying)

The moving slowed us down, but we hope it will actually free us up to finish these floors. My daughter has been a trooper. Here she is just three weeks after being diagnosed with mono, going to back to work and school, and repacking sorting all her stuff, in one week! That is alot of activity for her when she has been so sick.

What a year makes. As we are going through all this stuff we have stored, what seemed important last year has lost its appeal this year. Last year when Kat was sorting her stuff, I would ask her why she was saving something. She "just had to keep" this or that. This week, that same stuff had no value to her. I felt the same way. We have a huge pile for the rummage sale now, even after all that we lost and threw away. (Jon is quite glad she has pared all her stuff down, emptying several totes of childhood memories!)

My husband has taught me so much that continually changes me and teaches me to re-evaluate my life. He has been the most signifcant person I have shared my life with. He balances out my crazy ideas! This week has been a crazy one, and one that could have easily overwhelmed me, but because of him...I got this. He is teaching me to take little bites until it is all done. I have been writing my obligations in my calendar and not trying to do everything at once, but balance. I did just that with everything looming before me this week. I tackled what I could in snippits until it was just done. Thanks honey....hope this lesson sticks, because life is stressful enough!!!!!