A State of Dislocation

Who does not know how terrible are those preparations for housemoving;--how infinite in number are the articles which must be packed, how inexpressibly uncomfortable is the period of packing, and just how poor and tawdry is the aspect of one's belongings while they are thus in a state of dislocation?

I laughed out loud when I read this in Anthony Trollope's The Small House at Allington last night! (I am enjoying the book immensely, by the way; if you like Jane Austen, he seems to me to be a close cousin. )

That's what we're dealing with at our house: "a state of dislocation." Combing through our belongings for things to pack up and to get rid of has created a sort of domino effect: You eliminate one bookcase, one end table and one little desk, and you have to find new homes for many "articles," as Trollope would say, which means reorganizing other shelves, cabinets and rooms. It does seem an "infinite" number of steps in the process!

And in the midst of this upheaval, I had to have another little foot surgery on Friday. My doctor removed the four pins she put in in January, a minor surgery that still required me to be put under, and to sit around all weekend with my foot iced and elevated. I even have to wear the surgical boot again, though this time I was given a smaller, more lightweight version--the spring/summer model? Supposedly I only have to wear it a few more days, but we'll see. Things are still pretty tender down there--and swollen. Nothing like before, though, and she assures me I'll be back to normal in no time. At least I can limp around on it, on the heel--but it's more comfortable when elevated.

So things are in a shambles here--it's a good thing no has asked to come and see the house! We've had a couple of calls to ask our price, but we haven't done any advertising except for three signs and word of mouth. We're really not ready to show it. Our friend is planning to come next week, I think, to paint and repair some things first. And I'm so eager to be getting those rooms ready, and to box up all the stuff for whichever charity is coming Wednesday. It's so hard to sit around with so much to be done.

The problems I've had with my foot--for so many weeks out of this year so far--has been a real trial for me. It's hard for me to let things go, for my house to be in "a state of dislocation" --as it was in January and February, when we weren't moving, but Mom was pretty much confined to bed. I would even say it is "inexpressibly uncomfortable"!

But I learned, and was reminded this weekend, that we can still function happily in a messy house. I just have to make the right choices. I can try to get my family to do everything I would do if I were on my feet--a never-ending list--by ordering them all around from the couch, or I can ask for a few key things to be done, and then enjoy a movie with them, in the midst of the mess.

Saturday night, it was The Pursuit of Happyness; last night, it was Charlotte's Web.

(We thought Pursuit was just excellent. Charlotte was delightful, but both my husband and I missed the songs from the musical version!)