Moving

Just over a month ago, we moved house. Moved city. Moved our lives from there to here.

Just over a month ago, there was a very long day. We moved in two stages due to the distance, so Friday was a full on day of packing and sorting and cleaning and keeping the toddler out of trouble. We woke up early and tried to prepare ourselves for leaving. It came upon us all of a sudden. You know those days that are always there, hovering in the distance, and then BAM, here there are and away you go?

That's how the whole day was. On a practical level, it felt like a hardcore move. We were very lucky that as it's a move due to job, M's company paid for a removal firm to pack and move our shit. Of which it transpires, the three of us have a LOT of. We thought having people who would pack it all up would make it much easier, which to an extent it did. But we forgot to factor in S. Guys, moving with a toddler? It 'aint easy. He was an angel all day, but still. There is still a small person ready to jump into anything and everything, just wanting to talk to the removal men, trying to help and generally being a little tornado of excitement. Kid loves people. And moving house it seems!

People were coming and going all day long. Stuff was everywhere. An insane amount of chaos before at 6pm, it was just us. Just the three of us in our empty house as the sun was setting outside. We moved into that house just the three of us too - I was 6 months pregnant.

We wandered around and all I could think of was the morning, two years previously when I went into labour. I have the strongest memory of being in the living room, about 3am, a pregnant ball of excitement and contractions, whilst M was in the kitchen making sandwiches and us giggling hysterically. One of my favourite memories. And we filled that house with many like them.

By the end of the day though, we felt done. Ready to leave the house, to say goodbye. Seeing it empty, I felt pretty much the same. No sadness, just happy nostalgia. We had outgrown that house, and despite loving it dearly, it really felt time for the next chapter. We stood outside and took one final photograph. 'This was your first home Sachin'.

We traipsed across London with bags and baby, and got the train to our new city. We were both exhausted, physically and mentally. Sachin was raring to go. He entertained a packed train of commuters for almost 3 hours, and took our minds off everything, except that moment. M and I spent a lot of time just smiling at each other. Reassuring, comforting, excited and tired together.

At about 11pm, we loaded ourselves on to the tram, ready to make our way to the hotel we were staying in (our new house wasn't ready) until the following morning. That's when it hit me. Full in the chest, a sudden wave of emotion, and tears in my eyes. Whenever we'd been here before, it was always fleeting. Running around the city for a few days, hunting houses, barely having enough time to take it all in. Imagining living here, but knowing that once we were exhausted from it all, we'd still be going back to London, going home.

This time, there would be no going back to London. No going back to that home. A new home to make, and new nest to build. Exciting, scary, and completely overwhelming all at once.


{photo credit - http://blog.canterandcave.com/2011/04/shanghai-street-life/totems7/}