Transitions 2

A few days ago I was feeling claustrophobic. This was not the comfortable hedge surrounding the believer--God's protection and security. It was a confusing, chaotic lack of focus with a sense of pressing demands that left me feeling trapped. I knew there was so much to be done and I had no way of determining what to do first. I am grateful that that feeling passed and today the momentum toward moving day feels more like a steady march than a headlong plunge. God's hedge of protection is never stifling; there is always sufficient breathing room as He calms and gives rest. I am thankful for the Sabbath. I will greatly enjoy a day of rest and refreshment.

The children have packed their duffle bags with the clothes they'll need while staying in SC, and backpacks with "entertainments" for the trip. Their underbed boxes are packed with the toys and comforts they will most want in the temporary house in MD and have been labeled with blue dots. Blue dots are on all the things (or containers of things) going to the temporary house. All other household boxes and furniture will be going into storage. I've put blue dots on pictures and furniture. There are blue dots on the kitchen cupboards and bedroom closets containing things to be packed for the house, and a table with "blue dotted" items in the dining room ready for packing. I'll need to go around first thing Monday morning to make sure everything that needs a blue dot has been taken care of. That's when the packer, Bob, and his assistant will be coming to finish getting everything into boxes.

Pop got the garage almost completely packed up before he left for Colorado. He's having a great time, from the sound of his voice, but suffering a little from altitude sickness. It's hard to drink enough water to stave it off. He returns late Monday night.

Transitions 1

Now that Pop has accepted the call to be rector of Bishop Cummins Memorial in Catonsville, MD we are in the process of preparing to move. There are so many levels of preparation it is easy to lose focus, and I find myself more easily rattled than usual. I melt down at a lower decibel level and need refuge more often.

A big part of moving is the packing. We did a good preliminary job of getting rid of lots of "junk" but we still have an estimated 10 1/2 tons of furniture, books, clothes, pictures, etc. that we will be taking to MD with us. We have done some of the packing already, and I am glad that we will have the movers finish up, but the difficulty is in packing some things for storage and others for use in our temporary home. The house we're moving to is 1/2 (or maybe only 1/3) the size of our home here. Every room is smaller, and there are fewer rooms. I need to separate the essentials of kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms and classroom and figure out a way of organizing and storing them in a smaller space. In addition, we will be helping Thomas pack and move his things to the Pattons before the weekend is over.

The second challenge is in preparing to say goodbye to Thomas. Parents and students usually have several months' advance notice when their high school graduates are heading off to college to make that transition. We have had only two or three, and the time of our departure is rushing upon us. I remember the evening we said goodbye to Matt, Ben, and Jon when we left Bloomington. That was so painful, I'm not looking forward to doing it again.

Our schedule for the coming few weeks looks like this:
Thursday--Pop flies to Colorado to spend a long-weekend with Peter's family
Sunday--the children and I will attend Westminster for the final time; Thomas will probably be moved in to the Pattons
Monday--the packers come to finish packing; Pop returns from CO
Tuesday--the packers come again, if necessary
Wednesday (Jan. 11)--the moving van arrives and is loaded; we say goodbye to Thomas and begin driving to SC
Thursday and Friday--we stay in SC and sign the papers for the sale of our house in FL
Saturday--we leave the children in SC and Pop and I drive to Catonsville, MD
Sunday--Pop preaches at both morning services and we meet the congregation at a reception between
Monday or Tuesday--our shipments arrive; we unpack in the temporary house, deliver Pop's books to his new office, and place the rest in storage
Wednesday--we fly back to SC
Thursday--we drive to MD and begin to get settled

We'll have the following week to get David and Stephen enrolled in their new schools, get new driver's licenses, register the cars, etc. The current interim pastor will preach the final two Sundays of January and Pop will begin work the first week of February.