Our house went into escrow last night. We have thirty days (give or take a few, depending on various logistical complexities) to vacate the house that started out as just the place where we lived, and that has since become our home.
I have thirty days to find a mover, pack up three human beings and three animals, coordinate a 350-mile move to an as-of-yet-unknown location, negotiate leases and school enrollments and doctor referrals and internet hookups, figure out how to handle the fact that I have a business trip scheduled to begin on the day that we are scheduled to move (woooops), and theoretically maintain…you know, like, normal life. Or an approximation of it.
So you know what the first thing I did when I woke up this morning was?
I drove to Target, and I bought a Trapper Keeper*. Because really, it seemed like the only logical thing to do. And also because the night prior I had a long, extremely detailed dream in which I went to Staples and bought a binder and a hole punch and used them to organize my life, and then I woke up and called Francesca, as I do most mornings, and found out that she had dreamed about binders too.
This is a true story.
(We have the most boring dreams in the world. But at least we are also psychic.)
Clearly I needed a binder. And a hole punch. So I bought them. And then I went home, made my third cup of coffee, and sat down with a brand-new Sharpie (! the joy) and divided my New Favorite Possession into sections:
- Home Sale
- House Lease
- Schools
- Movers
- General Fears & Anxieties, And Also The Xfinity Password
And so now I am prepared.
BRING IT, LIFE. Whatever you’ve got, I WILL PUT IT IN MY BINDER.
P.S. I’m flying to LA today to do another house-hunt (because I lost the perfect perfect perfect house I found on my last trip, ugh), and so this time I better find one and lock it down. Come hang on IG if you feel like helping me house-shop; I could certainly use the company.
*OK, so not technically a Trapper Keeper; technically a Five Star notebook. But if you’re my age-ish, surely you appreciate the nostalgia of this reference.
