Our storage unit, almost packed to the gills

'Tis done. Nearly all the contents of the house have been packed into over 400 boxes and are now placed in storage for an indeterminate amount of time.

Aaron was able to work from home the week before last while the movers were there, but, having a job where I need lab equipment, I was not able to do so. It was weird to come home each day and have more and more of our house packed. When I got home on Thursday and opened the door, I noticed a strange echo. That was the day they had moved everything into storage. Both of us are surprised how loud the house is without rugs and furniture in it.

The movers ended up using over 400 boxes, hundreds and hundreds of feet of bubble wrap and too much packing material to even remember. We took over 200 pounds of garbage to the street. The stuff we are taking with us to Germany ended up filling 11 boxes and came in at just over 300 pounds (we were allotted 160kg, about 350 pounds, so a little bit of room for souvenirs).

With everything packed up except the camping gear, the scuba gear, and a few clothes we will need for the next couple of weeks, we are back to living like we did right before we got married. The mattress is on the floor and we have a camp chair and a hand-me-down lazy boy as our furniture. While it was an emotionally difficult week, and our house is more of a empty shell, we are still excited for this move to Germany. We both know that in the long run, this was the right choice for us.

In the end, home is not any one place, but rather, it is the people in your life. It doesn't matter where the roof you sleep under is located, what matters is who is there next to you. When everything starts to become overwhelming, we remind ourselves of this. There are two mantras which have been on repeat:

"That which is the most difficult to endure is often the most while"

and

"In 30 years, which will we regret more: having an opportunity like this and turning it down for the sake of being comfortable, or accepting the opportunity in front of us, and making the most of this experience?"

And so that is exactly what are we are going to do.....dive in, both literally and figuratively, and make the most out of this experience.

- Meghan -