21 March 2007

'twas the night before we move

And all through the house..... We've got boxes everywhere. The packers ran out of boxes and quit around 3pm. I had hoped to get a few to use to pack food but that didn't happen. They will have to finish packing tomorrow morning, while loading the van.

Needless to say, Oliver was confused when we brought him home from school. Penguin watched it all unfold and she is confused too. Never having moved as a child, I'm not quite sure what to expect tomorrow when Oliver finds his bed is at the new house. He knows his room well and calls the place "Oliver house" so I am hoping the transition is not too traumatic.

There is still plenty left to do at the new house but let's think about what is done, for a change. The painters packed up their gear and gave me the bill so that is done. The closet systems are also done. Yep, that's about it for complete rooms, though I suppose the living and dining rooms could be considered complete. I look at the hearth on the fireplace and see work that needs doing. And the window treatments too. But really, the house is livable and we'll sleep there tomorrow.

1 comment:

Matt said...

We moved when Dunc was at 16 months...I was a bit concerned about how Dunc would take to the change, as we couldn't even readily replicate his old room in the new place (it was smaller, completely different walls, door and window orientation, relationship to the rest of the house, etc.)

He didn't seem to bat an eye about the whole thing. He'd traveled with us before, and I think for the first day or two he just thought we were on a trip, and after that he'd forgotten he'd lived anywhere else.

This is probably quite different at different ages, but I think if he has his stuff and his people around him it won't make for a big difference. Cross your fingers, he's probably still of an age where it will be just a little weird but won't matter.

Now, let me tell you about three years old by contrast. They're the most conservative people in the world. Nothing must ever change, and if something goes wrong, it must be undone to exactly the way it was before or else. This morning Duncan wanted grapes cut into his yogurt and mueseli. After I'd cut them all in and mixed them all up, he started screaming at the top of his lungs that he didn't want yogurt and mueseli all over his grapes. New grapes? No, of course not! Unacceptable! How dare I! No, we had to wash off each individual grape, and THEN "wash" the yogurt off the bits of mueseli.

An hour late he insisted on a bowl where they were all mixed together, and this time he meant it, so when I served him a separate bowl with grapes and another with mueseli, THEN he had the fit.

No, you're moving at the right time.

And, bear this happy thought in mind: unlike, say, moving from a crib to a big boy bed or from the high chair to a real chair, you won't be able to cheat and "unmove" if there's a problem, so on the theory there's nothing that can be done with his reaction, just let it ride. Keep that in mind for the first few times he hits his baby sister...