The day started out like any other. Hopscotch woke us, we reluctantly crawled out of bed and got some breakfast. Then the movers came and put everything we own in boxes and wrapped all the furniture in bubble wrap paper. We had done a lot for he packing of non-breakable stuff beforehand, but the four guys worked hard and it still took into the afternoon before they were done. After an hour or so it became apparent that there wan’t going to be much for Hopscotch to do so Kelly took her over to a friend’s house for most of the day. I stayed behind to help out the movers and do my best to make sure that what needed to get packed go packed and what didn’t, didn’t. I did my best but failed on a couple of key items, more on that in a bit.
One surprise was that the container showed up at the house early in the afternoon on Tuesday. We weren’t expecting it until the next day, since the plan was to pack everything the first day and then load it all the second. My first thought was “man, that is small!”. I guess I didn’t have a picture in my head of how big a 20′ container is, but it looked small to me, especially with all the boxes piling up inside the house. By mid afternoon the movers were wrapping up (get it?). They left the mattresses out for us so we could spend one last night in the house.
Wednesday morning was a scramble to try to get the last odds and ends packed away. The movers returned around 8 am and didn’t waste any time boxing up the last of our stuff starting to load the container. In fact, at times they were running back and forth bringing out boxes and such. The previous day I was busy the entire time the movers were there but on wednesday there was much less for us to do so we hung out in the drive, took Hopscotch for a walk or two, and watched the container fill. It was like watching a giant game of Tetris, every single little crevice was filled. By 11 am or so it was full. The movers had me prioritizing things in case we ran out of space and had to leave some things behind, but in the end it all fit, just barely. It was filled to the top from end to end when they finally sealed the door.
We spent a good part of the afternoon with what was probably the most agonizing part of the move – trying to figure out of the stuff we need to have with us immediately when we arrive in NZ what to take in suitcases and what to ship ahead. Shipping packages across the world is expensive, but so is overweight baggage. It wasn’t easy but we managed to settle on two ship-ahead packages. Unfortunately, this is when we discovered the biggest mistake of the move. We tried our best to keep separate the things we needed to take with us so that the movers didn’t inadvertently pack anything we would need. I spent a good part of Tuesday grabbing things that I realized we needed to keep with us but hadn’t separated, as well as things that were trash but hadn’t been separated from the stuff we wanted to have packed. Unfortunately it’s inevitable that things slip through the cracks. Because the movers left our mattresses out for us to sleep on, the next morning they just scooped up all the bedding and packed it for us. To our great (and ongoing) dismay, Hopscotch’s favorite polka dot blanket that she takes everywhere and sleeps with was among the bedding. We bought her a replacement one, but we’ll have to wait to see whether tat cuts it with her.
Wednesday night we headed up to Kelly’s aunt & uncle’s cabin in the mountains where we’ll spent the next few days. It was a whirlwind couple of days and definitely bittersweet. It was the house Kelly and I bought together and the house we brought our 4 day old daughter home to. We spent hours clearing out the garden and painting her room. But it’s also the start of a great adventure for all of us and the experiences we’ll have will be priceless compared to a few oddly arranged wall But firsts and a roof. So onward and yonward to the next phase! But first hanging out at a cabin in the mountains and a 200 mile running race.
Kiwi Bound 