TAKE A DEEP BREATH

August 15, 2009

"Where'd I put the scissors, has anyone seen the scissors?" Instead I find the bottle stopper Stefania gave us on our last trip to Italy. I wanted to pack it in the black leather box it belonged in, the one she left on the dining table in our room as a welcoming gift, but I have no idea of where the box went. I run from one end of the room to the other looking for everything and finding nothing.
Rick told me to sit down, take a deep breath; "You're driving yourself crazy with all this worrying." This is a case of the kettle calling the pot black. He walked over to the desk and dug out two tiny notebooks, mine was green. He handed it over and said, "Okay, write down everyhing you think you have to do. Put it down on paper and then start crossing out what you've done." In less than three minutes I had filled three pages. I could have gone on but I decided the probability of completing even a small portion of the list was highly unlikely, why add insult to injury. For the next thirty minutes I seemed more focused, a little calmer, a little richer for Rick's thoughtfulness, but after thirty minutes I misplaced the book and still couldn't find the scissors. Chaos is endemic to moving and when you're trying to load up a house you've lived in for over twenty years, an apartment that has been your home base for two and an office you've inhabited for over a decade, chaos is inevitable. I just want the next forty-eight hours to be over.

TIP:

During the beginning stages make sure to allot time to sit down to discuss what's really important and needs to get done that day. Talk about what each of you would like to accomplish. Set aside time where you work together to formulate a schedule for the day and designate tasks that can be accomplished together or individually. Then don't fall apart when the plan doesn't work out because something unexpected threw everything out the window. Pick up the pieces and start again. It's always two steps forward and one step back.