Initiate chaos sequence

This blog felt no love in the month of April. Reason being, my life was Hectic. I packed up my life once again and moved, this time not just down the street (I've lived on Knott Street in Hesston on several different occasions) but down the road to Newton.

On no level is moving easy. I wasn't saying goodbye to people, but emotionally it felt hard to say goodbye to this tiny, Kansan town. (Which seems silly to say since it's not far away and, ironically, I am writing this post in Hesston. Since it is houses the only coffee shop in the immediate area that is open on Sundays). Knott Street was where I lived when I first moved to Kansas back in the fall of 2010. I live with my sister and brother-in-law and their dog Scooter. I was 23 and a bit of a mess. Even though this phase of my life was not the best, living with my sister was amazing and ingrained in me a feeling that Knott Street was home.  When I moved to the two other houses on this same street, the sense of coming home was strong.

Moreover, I really thought this place on Knott Street would be the last place I lived in the state of Kansas. Levent and I would live here until we finally moved someplace else (preferably with mountains and access to Indian takeout). No such luck.

I also had the best landlord in the history of landlords. Bernie took such loving care of his property. I have had a string of good landlords, but Bernie was unbelievable. As millennials who, most likely, face a lifetime of renting, I realize how much of a gift this was.

I don't even need to say this because its universally understood, but packing is the worst. It's always way more work than you think it's going to be. I spent several weekends before the great move packing and still spent the Friday before I moved packing for 12 hours). It's exhausting and in a small way, it feels like grieving.

But on Saturday, April 20 we packed up 209 E Knott Street and headed to Newton, which emphasized several things.

1. I am lucky to have such lovely friends. My community in Kansas is quite small but it is here. Despite my complaining, leaving this prairie place would be incredibly hard. My friends, Heidi and Hayden, Jill, and Todd, Julie and their girls, were more than happy to spend their Saturday morning packing and unpacking the u-haul. My moves in the past have either all been solo (because I literally just packed my life in my car and rolled out) or just been me and Levent moving stuff down the street, which was terrible since neither of us own a truck. (One time we had to move both of us into two different new places. Oh it was also on Levent's birthday. Never again). 

I should've taken a photo of my crew; but we were busy

Scout really enjoyed all the boxes

This is how I felt about all the boxes

The cat was the last thing to pack up

Priorities

2. I am actually PUMPED to in Newton. Who would've thought. This dumpy town has a great silver lining that I am exploring and loving each day. For one thing, I live a lot closer to work. I also live near Sand Creek, which has a lovely trail. So I have started biking to work! It's been delightful. (I show up to work all sweaty, but I work on the internet. So who really cares).

3. Despite the constant feeling of being unsettled, I actually really enjoy decorating a space. I get frustrated because I want it to be done instantly. But there is actually a lot of creative energy that flows when I live in a new space. And that is delightful, especially after a long winter of feeling "blah." Things are slowly coming together. Plus, I have a front porch! With a swing! I love this space so much! I've read out here a few times already. My parents' front porch in North Carolina is one of my favorite places on earth and I am so happy I have one now too.

So while I would not recommend moving and planning a wedding and then taking a work trip (which happened at the end of April), things have actually worked out pretty well. I am ready for the next adventure, in Newton, who would've thought.