I hate to move. I really, really hate it. The weeks of packing, boxing, trashing, and general sweating suck. Moving day is the PITS, especially because I’ve always moved in the dead of summer. The weeks that follow a move are also supremely sucky because they are filled with unpacking, trying to fit square pegs in round holes, and generally making your old life work in a new house. NOT FUN.

My friend, Emy, graduated in June and is starting her Master’s in the Fall. This is exciting in many ways, but right now, she’s planning her move. Joy. She has to hire a truck and move all of her belongings (knick-knacks, silverware, and assorted other small things, included) and move her whole life 300 miles north. Sure, once the moving is done, she’ll be in a kick-ass house in a kick-ass city, and I’m sure she’ll be very comfortable and happy, but the moving part sucks.

MD–Moving Day, for short–is about 4 weeks away. But already, she’s caught up in the crap of it. Her landlord is showing her apartment (therefore, per Emy standards, it has to be SPOTLESS at all times). She’s worrying about what to take, and how she’ll take it there. She has just discovered that there’s no IKEA nearby (horror!), so she’s going to have to order everything for delivery. And she doesn’t even want to think about the moving truck.

I didn’t move until I was 18 years old, but since then, I have moved 8 times. I’ve packed a lot of boxes, driven quite a few moving trucks, and done my fair share of heavy lifting. Eight times in 5 years is A LOT of moving. And Luke and I had a lot of stuff. It was always a horribly long process that was never quite worth it… And yet, here I am, making move #9. And it’s not just a intra-state move, not even a cross-country move, but an international move. And do you know what? It’s going to be the easiest move of all.

I’m selling most of my stuff. Anything without firm sentimental value is going out the door at whatever price I can get. Furniture, appliances, electronics, knick-knacks, books, etc. Gone! I will rent a small storage building to store all my sentimental goodies, and there they will stay until I either settle in CR or move back to the US. I will go to CR with my kitties and a few suitcases with my clothes and a few items that I can’t live without. But that’s it; I’m simplifying. Detaching from a lot of material things, which is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. So for the first time, I find myself excited to move even though it will mean a lot of tears and goodbyes to things and people I’ve loved and been close to for a very long time.