It is quiet here in this new space in the early morning hours. I sit at the kitchen island, lights dim, music playing softly in the background. Morning is still somewhere over the horizon. Dawn waits as I awaken.
We are settling in.
Yesterday, the installation guy came from Shaw and hooked us up. We had spent the week searching for the modem. Finally found it buried in a box marked, Spare Room. Diane’s stuff.
I don’t know who Diane is, nor what was in her Spare Room but the items in that box didn’t come from our Spare Room.
It was all a jumble.
There is a gift in having movers come in to pack everything up. Less packing equals less strain on my back which equals less pain. There’s also value in the fact for both the environment and our pocket book that they reuse boxes and give you money back when you return them.
But…
Ah yes, that ole’ butt…
Not scratching out the identifier’s from old users’ rooms and contents and replacing them with ours has made unpacking an… adventure!
I have mostly found all our kitchen things — which is always my priority. It did take until Thursday to find my cappuccino maker (it was in a box marked, Dave’s workroom). Now it’s all set up and I feel ‘at home’.
We are loving our new abode. Loving figuring out what goes where, what needs to go, what needs to have more thought before deciding if it stays. And of course, figuring out where things are!
Our contractor is still working on finishing touches. Friday afternoon he installed the rods in all the closets which meant Saturday C.C. and I unpacked wardrobe boxes and put clothes away.
There are still lots of tools and building debris in the laundry room and downstairs as the contractor finishes off final touches. Once he’s done, this week, I’ll begin the task of organizing the boxes currently taking up floor space in what will eventually become my studio downstairs.
I’m grateful for the counsel of friends, like Iwona, who suggested I think of moving-in as a 6 month timeline. No need to stress about getting it all done today. It’s a process. Not a race.
For now, I shall savour my quiet mornings seated at the island as Beaumont sleeps on the chaise by the window. I bought him a new bed which is on the floor by the deck door, but for now, he prefers the furniture. Marley the Great Cat is finally settling in. He’ll sleep on any spot he pleases but seems to find the desk by the window most welcoming. Though he’s a bit tiffed with me right now as I moved some things around and ‘his’ desktop is now covered with plants and a bowl I’m not sure where to place.
He’ll get over it.
Just as we will get over the anxiety and angst of a move-in to a not-quite-finished renovations home.
Because, no matter the unpacked boxes and the chaotic disorder around us, we are always connected to the Love that fills the spaces between and within our hearts. Like the river flowing past endlessly racing towards the distant sea, it is Love that carries us from this moment to the next, flowing endlessly into the Sea of Love that is always present.
No matter the times, all we have to do to be connected to its deep and abiding grace is to Breathe. and Be.
In Love.
We Calgarians love our weather. We love to talk about it, groan about it, wish we could change it. But secretly… Well secretly I think we kind of like it. It makes us who we are. Hardy. Willing to take on anything. Not afraid of the elements. And optimistic (the summer will come, it always does) and maybe a bit pessimistic too. (Don’t worry. Wait five minutes and the weather will change — for the worst probably because you know, it can snow in July in Calgary!)
Today, I still remember those ornaments. But I no longer miss them. My life is so full of precious moments, of wondrous adventures and people I love that those ornaments remain gracefully in the past. When they do pop into my mind unexpectedly, I see them in all their intricate detail as a beautiful reminder to cherish what is in the present today.
