In the past 15 months, between Ken and me, and my parents, we’ve made four moves, one that involved a farm auction. Uprooting and moving house at any age is not for the faint of heart! But especially at our age! And most especially at my parents’ age. Add to that the fact that Ken and I had the bright idea (not!) to move in February in Kansas, from our small-town house into the “big” city. (If you live in New York or L.A. or Dallas, you’ll know why I put big in quotes when referring to Wichita, Kansas.)
Uprooting and moving house at any age is not for the faint of heart!
On top of that, long before we even contemplated moving, we had agreed to teach at two writers conferences that fell right in the middle of our move. In February, we closed on the new house, moved the important things—coffee and bagels. . .
. . .and flew off to teach at the Christian Writers Guild Conference in Colorado. Not an improvement over Kansas weather, but certainly a nice place to stay when both our homes were in chaos:
Then we flew back home where we packed up everything for the movers, only to have moving day dawn like this:
So we were “trapped” in a house that looked like this:
Until we could fly away for a quick (and blessed) escape to this at the Florida Christian Writers Conference:
It was March 5 before we could reschedule the movers, and by then we’d realized that in order to get our tall (and very important) bookcases into our new house, a large window would have to come out. Well worth it for the wonderful office my husband ended up with:
The dust had barely settled on our crazy move, when a few months later, we had to move my mom into assisted living. Then a few months after that, we moved her again into nursing care. Then, last month we helped my dad move into his new house near my mom. But not until after a huge auction:
All of these moves were needed and have ended up being very good things—blessings even—but oh, how I relish staying put for a while. And having the people I love stay put, too. I really would love it if there was only one more move in our lives…well, not counting the one our kids make for us when they move us into the home.
Have you made a move recently, or helped a loved one move? How does the chaos of a move mess with life as you know it? Aside from “don’t try to move in February in Kansas!” what suggestions do you have for making things easier for anyone contemplating a move in the near future?
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Oh my goodness, I’ll never complain about moving again! You are a survivor!!!!
My worst move was during an ice storm. I was renting so I had to leave by noon so the new tenants could move in. I never prayed so long and hard in my life!!!!
Right now a friend of mine is in the midst of her own chaos. She’s moving from the country to the city as well. Downsizing. New condo won’t be ready until August but the buyers of her house who had originally agreed to an August closing needed to bump it up to today! So with a week’s notice my friend had to figure out what to keep and then pack it up for storage, sell or giveaway the rest and remember to pack up essentials for the next two months which will be spent between her cottage and family homes. Talk about stress!!!!!
Talk about stress is right! My heart goes out to your friend, Kav! That was my biggest fear: that we’d have to move twice…storing things before being able to move into our home. Thankfully the wonderful people who bought our home were gracious to let us stay there until our new place was ready—even when our move date got changed by almost two weeks because of the storm. That was such a gift to us!
Wow, Deb – – I knew that time had been hectic for you, but until reading your post today I didn’t realize just HOW hectic it was then! You’re so right – – moving is not for the faint of heart. 😉 I enjoyed seeing the photos you’ve shared, and am in awe of how much you and Ken have done in your new home (some folks take years to complete home projects*sigh*). How wonderful it’s all behind you now. 🙂
Although I’ve moved very few times in my life, the most recent move was quite memorable (17 years ago). Our 3 kiddos were little, and we’d outgrown our cozy home that we loved. So we had our new house built, but it was contingent on selling the house we were in. Finally got a contract that didn’t fall through, only to find out we would HAVE to move on Christmas Eve day!! YIKES!! All I can say now is that the Lord was with us – – I’d already decorated for Christmas in our old house, so everything came down (in addition to packing for moving) and my husband tied our Christmas tree on top of my van and I drove it to the new house (to re-decorate it). I had promised my children we would have our usual Christmas regardless of the move. Most amazing of all was that NOTHING (Christmas gifts, etc.etc.etc.) got lost or misplaced, and we had our usual Christmas in our brand-new home! But I’ve told folks since then that I would NEVER recommend moving on Christmas Eve, especially when you have small children (and several cats), LOL.
Oh, my goodness, Patti Jo! Moving on Christmas Eve day!! No way. Even the thought of decorating the same tree twice in one Christmas makes me a little weak in the knees. 😉 The thing we’ve discovered is A. some of the crazy stuff makes for great stories when you’re giving people the first tour of your home. And B. It’s all worth it if you got a house you love that is fast turning into a HOME!
Oh my. This post really hits home. At the end of last month Iearned that iI have until the 30th of this month to be out of my house bbecause my landlord sold it. Yikes. It will be quite a change after 9 1/2 years in this house. Moving is not something I look forward to, although mostly I just want it over with.
BTW, love that window in your husband’s office.
Crystal, my heart goes out to you! But I hope that whatever home you find next will be one you love even more than where you are now. But HAVING to move is never fun!
When it comes to moving, I have compassion PLUS for anyone! I personally have moved 20+ times in my life and many of those were without help when I was a single mom. My husband was an Army brat and had to move nearly every school year of his life.
But we have just experienced a rough one 3 years ago. We lost our business and with too much debt we ended up in a travel trailer. The stress took it’s toll on my husband and he ended up with congestive heart failure. But 3 years later he is doing well. We are awaiting the miracle that will take us to what God has promised us…a home to stay in until we go ALL THE WAY HOME.
This move will be a JOY! LOL!
All I can say to you movers out there– REST!!!
Sandy, my grandfather worked construction and my dad attended 14 schools in his 12 years of school before he went to college. I would have done anything to keep my children from having to live like that, and yet my dad is one of the most friendly, outgoing, cheerful guys you’ll ever meet. And he credits all those moves to his amazing way with people. I pray you will find that miracle of a wonderful home (while recognizing that there’s no mansion on earth that will compare with that “ALL THE WAY HOME” you mention! Thanks for sharing!
That is wonderful about your grandfather and yes all these things everyone is experiencing makes us compassionate and able to understand that life is not always easy. Spoiled children make rotten adults.
I feel remiss if I do not share one of those stories in our many moves to encourage someone: 10 years ago we were packed up, house was sold and my husband’s bosses were dragging their feet about where to transfer him. God said “3 days” and sure enough exactly 3 days before we had to be out, we found out where we were going. And it took us 3 days to get there. He is always faithful and LOVES to build faith in us on this journey!
Sounds like you’ve had a lot of emotional stress as well as the physical moving. My tip for moving – don’t buy a HUD foreclosure unless you really don’t mind oodles of extra work/stress/problems.
We’ve moved A LOT over the past few years – 4 different houses/apartments in one small town since October 2009. But we bought our first house Dec 26th so hopefully this will be our last move for at least 10 years. Not that it hasn’t come with it’s own epic saga. We’ve learned a lot about HUD foreclosure homes, learned detailed plumbing inspections are a very good idea, that inspectors miss some pretty critical stuff as do title companies – fun, fun, fun. Three days after we moved in, we learned the sewer line had collapsed so we had to move out while it was fixed. Then 2 weeks later we learned they didn’t fix it all (the pipes had gotten clogged out in the yard from all the debris washed into the collapsed line) so we had to move back out again for round 2. Then we learned the property taxes were never paid last year so there was a lien on the house that the title company missed. Fortunately they were able to obtain the funding from HUD and get that paid off but in the confusion our mortgage company paid April’s payment twice. So this year’s taxes are now fully paid but they think they will still have an October payment to make and are concerned over the escrow being too low and wanting to raise our monthly payment. I have to call them and get that sorted out now. Plus we had a foundation specialist come look at a unique problem we have and their company was so concerned over our special situation that they aren’t willing to get involved and can’t believe our inspector didn’t flag it as a potential concern. So we have to get an engineer to come inspect and give us a written report and depending on how that goes, we may have to pursue things further.
Sounds like good advice! We looked at a few foreclosures in our search but our Realtor really steered us away for the very reasons you mentioned. Hope you are loving your current home, and that you can stay put as long as you like!
When I married my husband three years ago this summer, I moved from NJ to PA. Since he had a very small apartment, I kept a lot of my stuff back at my mom’s until we could get a bigger place. Almost exactly one year after I was married, we bought a house, and friends helped us move all of our apartment belongings to our new house. But we weren’t done, since I had many of my things back in NJ, and my dad was downsizing and giving tons of stuff to me as well… so we had to go back to NJ, rent a truck, and move all of that stuff back to PA. So, it was two moves in one move, it that makes sense.
I told my husband I didn’t want to see another brown box for a long time. We are definitely here for a while, but we may outgrow this place depending on how many children we have! In any case, it is a long way off before we’ll move again.
I shouldn’t complain, though. What you went through is crazy! Moving is definitely the pits, but worth it in the end. I keep saying maybe we should resort to pioneer living and live with only a few belongings. That would make moving easier!
Nothing worse than two moves in one! But hope you don’t see a brown box (unless it’s new furniture being delivered!) for many years to come. As for fitting children into a house, I grew up sharing a room with my 3 sisters for several years. Two double beds, 2 girls to a bed. I have to think it’s one of the reasons my sisters and I are so close to this day. So don’t let a bunch of kids in a little house keep you from staying right where you are! In fact, it’s one of the plot points in the book I just finished writing. You know that song? Love grows best in little houses! 🙂
The day after Thanksgiving we drove from Colorado to California to live in a temporary apartment until we closed on our new condo on December 18. We downsized by a third and have been creative in adjusting to our new size and location in a San Jose condo. Since January, we’ve been making plans for a kitchen and bath remodel with lots of other changes throughout. The contractors began work last week. Three to five more weeks to go. Everything will be lovely, but until then I feel like we’re living in storage. We’ve moved boxes from point A to B to C and back to A. Numerous times.
Pamela, I feel for you. We TRIED to downsize when we made this last move, but it didn’t help that my parents moved and gifted us with so many treasures in the process! I know they’re just things, but it’s hard to let go of things that hold so many memories! Praying your remodel goes smooth as silk!
Almost 4 years ago, my husband got a job offer in DC. We lived in the NW corner of Washington State for 15 years as a married couple…and for me, all my life. We couldn’t afford to move everything (he’d been without a job for over a year) so I stayed and packed our house with an almost 4 year old and 9 month old. I waited for the miracle that we’d get to join him soon. God provided a generous family that helped us move into the house we live in today and they blessed us with a gift that paid for the cost of our moving. So the last week of July 2010, we finished packing our moving trailer. We packed up our 2 kids and our dog and drove 6 days across the country in an SUV with no AC. We are so blessed! My advice. Moving is chaos but God is always in control! Oh and make sure you have AC.
Having once driven from Kansas to California in August in a car with no AC, I understand a little of what that trip must have been like. Oh. My! And with babies! And a dog! You are a brave soul! But you’re so right: God is always in control. Sounds like there were many blessings in the midst of that trial, too. And what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, right? LOL!
Almost one year to the day (today) I started looking online for houses in the St. Louis area, wanting to be near our son and his wife (especially when they started a family). When I found some (we wanted property, as we had 10 acres in Wichita), I thought that would make my husband happy. He ended up calling about one in mid July, and the next think I knew, we had a contract. We had to put ours up for sale, but in 4 days had 6 offers, so that was amazing. There were times I felt as though God was literally pushing us, and although it was quite a roller coaster ride, doors continued to open. We moved in Sept., just 3 months after I began looking. Now for the real interesting part – we bought the house sight unseen. We had our son and his wife and her mother go look at it and videotaped it, all the while they kept saying ‘This is amazing!’ The other really interesting thing is that 4 days after we moved here, they told us they were pregnant, and now we have a 2 week old granddaughter. I am so glad God pushed us as he did!
Karen, the only thing I don’t LOVE about that whole story is the part where you moved OUT of Wichita about the time we were moving IN! But oh, how NEAT that you got there just in time to enjoy your granddaughter. What a fantastic housewarming gift! 🙂 And you know what? Ken and I may follow in your footsteps in a few years. (I say 7, my hubby says 5). It looks like most of our grandkids may end up in Missouri, and Lord willing, we’d like to be close enough to them some day to not miss all the ballgames and concerts and whatever else our grands are involved in. (That’s the LAST move before the home that I referred to in my post.)
That would be great! Nancy Mehl is here, and we were literally going through the same thing at about the same time, moving from Wichita to St. Louis to be near our sons. She is far south, and we are far north, so we haven’t met here yet. We’re still adjusting and learning where everything is. Our biggest complaint? The streets here constantly change names. For several miles it’s one name and then all of a sudden it’s another, and then another. Not sure who did the original planning, but it’s terrible!
Since my husband is a pastor, we move fairly often. Kind of like child birth, with the passing of time, the memory of the pain of the event diminishes. So when it’s time to move, I think, “It won’t be that bad.” And every time it IS that bad. Moving is a lot of work, and it seems that no matter how many things you put in boxes, more things appear out of the woodwork. Will I EVER get everything packed? Then there is the garage sale, the fifty trips to Good Will, and the cleaning.
Not to mention the emotional trauma of saying goodbye to the friends you are leaving and the life you have known.
But I have always looked forward to the new adventure that lies ahead after we move. I enjoy getting a “new” home set up, using what I have in different ways. I enjoy meeting new people and exploring the new community we have moved to.
All of our moves inspired a picture (designed by Ken Raney- Deb’s husband and my brother-in-law) that hangs in our dining room. It has all of the addresses we have lived at in different fonts layered over the words HOME SWEET HOME.
I think I’ve been in all but one of your homes, Vicky, and every one has been beautiful! You have a talent for quickly making a house a home. But your current home (close to mine!) is my favorite of all and I hope you won’t be moving for many years! I’m still trying to talk my husband into making ME one of those canvases! I love how yours turned out!
P.S. Thank you, Vicky Miller, for ALL your help with our move. We truly, truly couldn’t have done it without you. Knowing you were at the house painting and changing out light fixtures and sewing and hanging curtains…and cleaning and drinking hot chocolate 🙂 while we were fulfilling our conference teaching duties was such a blessing. And getting the update photos from you each day we were gone put our mind at ease more than you can know! You definitely went above and beyond a sister’s duties! 🙂
Dear Deb,
My heart goes out to all of you. Moving wears a body out physically and mentally. I hope the conference was just what you needed. I love Lake Yale! Every year they would host church librarians from all over for a 5 day conference. It was wonderful! Unfortunately they quit having the conferences. Prayers going up for you and yours.