The worst mover, ever.

This whole international moving thing is really kicking my butt. I just don’t have time for it. Seriously. I can’t remember the last time that I brushed my hair. The other day, I had to take apart a dreadlock that was forming underneath all the layers of my very naughty mane.

The more I get rid of and the more I pack, my room seems to get messier, I cannot even understand how this is logically possible, but alas, it is.

I have lost the will to follow dress code at work, and I cry at anyone’s thoughtfulness. Last night after small group, one of my dearest friends, Sarah, called just to tell me that she loved me and wanted to know how she could help. This turned into a MAJOR sob fest (on both parts, but mostly mine). I am pretty sure that opened the flood gates of emotion, so I kindly ask that no one be nice to be in the weeks preceding my departure. If you are nice, most likely you will get tears, many hugs, and your shirt might be used as a snot rag. You’ve been warned.

Because of my deep rooted talent (?) of procrastination (and my current “hot mess” status), I have decided to avoid that which I should be doing and write a how-to for people who are saying ‘bye-for-now’ to loved ones moving far away.  You’re welcome in advance.

*There will be times when we can’t remember anything. Please pretend you don’t notice. Just a few weeks ago, I planned to have coffee with 2 different people. At the same time. And the same location. AND, they didn’t know each other (so I couldn’t pass it off like it was a group thing). Oopsie.

*Emotional breakdowns are inevitable, and most likely, not short. I have no advice for this one. Just expect it. Maybe carry a small package of tissues for all the tears and such because we will definitely not remember to carry one with us. Be prepared to give lots of hugs and have no decent pictures together before we leave due to excessive blotchy faces because of the ugly cry.

*Our living spaces will be horrifying. It will be an obstacle course of clothes, books, random sharp objects, and pretty much every household item. Use this as training for something really cool like Tough Mudder or the Warrior Dash. It will be pretty much the same, especially when stepping barefoot on a plugged-in curling iron. If you can handle that, you can definitely handle the 10,000 volt electrocution at the end of Tough Mudder. (You can thank us later).

*We will look consistently frazzled.  While we sincerely appreciate the offers of help and questions asking what still needs to be done, the truth is, WE HAVE NO IDEA. There is so much to do that we cannot actually remember. It may be more helpful to sit us down and have us make a list, otherwise, the attitude (at least mine) is ‘screw-it.’

*You may have to reach out to us to schedule time together. Either due to extreme busyness or an acute case of exhaustion, we may be hesitant to initiate hang out time. Also, our minds are in two places, which is a strange mental exercise. We will be using parts of our brain that have been sleeping since high school (maybe earlier).

*Speaking of our brains, they are pretty much on the verge of shutting down. The task of constructing complete sentences becomes exhausting and you will be lucky if we can still recite the alphabet or correctly identify our primary colors.

***on a more serious note***

*Our brains don’t reflect our hearts. We love you, but we may not be showing how deeply we care in the midst of this transition. It isn’t because we don’t want to, but because we are severely distracted. Sometimes, though, it does seem too hard to say goodbye, and we do avoid it. There will be questions swirling around our minds asking us if it really is worth it to leave. The thought of leaving each of you breaks our hearts and emotionally we don’t know how to deal. Please forgive us for shutting you out at times, or distancing ourselves, the unreturned phone calls, or any other behavior that is hurtful. It isn’t our intention. We just don’t know how to navigate these new waters. Thank you for your patience and bearing with us. Even though we can’t (or don’t) express it, it means more to us than you know.  Please keep us in your prayers and keep us accountable to time with each other and with Jesus. It is a struggle to even do one of anything well at this point. We need you, and are just doing a very poor job of showing it.

 

I think the moral of this post is we need community and Jesus and are having a horrible time balancing what needs to be done and continually pursuing relationships. Please forgive us! Thank you, friends and family, for being so awesome and so supportive, and faithful. I mean, we are already a train wreck, imagine where we would be without you! Or maybe don’t walk down that road; it seems to be a little frightening.

(fyi: ‘we’ refers to the community of ‘movers.’ I am not referring to myself in multiples; although, I may not be far off from that…)

Anything that you would add? Or anything that isn’t accurate?