The Chaos Continues...

The movers are here for a second day. Several observations:

~ Sorting all we own into four piles (UK sea, UK air, Chicago storage, TN storage) is exponentially more complicated that just putting stuff in a box and moving it from A to B. Little colored post-it notes are my friends.
~ Ten cubic meters will be plenty of space to bring our stuff from home, including the green nursery chair that we decided at the last moment we couldn't live without.
~ Brooks really is the "perfect angel baby". He quietly slept through six packers ripping apart our house and putting it into cartons just outside his bedroom door. The tape gun sounds echoing through the condo would have woken a coma patient, but not our baby. And he happily flew to TN with grandma yesterday without looking back! Sending Brooks down to his grandparents a few days early was an excellent idea. I can't believe we considered not doing that.
~ There is a huge difference between a 20 year old back and a 32 year old back. I am amazed what these college students can muscle down our stairs.
~ We have great friends who generously came to offer a hand and love on our son... Shel was here Tues for 8 hours and again Thurs for the early morning shift as the movers arrived. Amy came for 8 hours on Wednesday while I had doctor's appointments and ran final errands. Kyler and Linds came Wed night - Kyler doing a ton at the new storage unit with Eric, and Lindsay helping me pack and sort here at home. Their assistance was invaluable and their friendship was just what my heart needed.
~ When choosing a closing attorney, look for one who offices near you, not way out in the burbs. It really does matter.
~ Music makes me move faster. When Eric cranks up the itunes, I almost always get a second wind. Sorting, packing, purging, etc, is better done if you're singing at the top of your lungs.
~ Moving internationally is a good time to decide if you REALLY want something. Knowing that you won't see it for at least two years and that you'll have to pay to keep it in a box really helps ya trim back.
~ A 30th birthday of a dear friend is a GREAT reason to take a break, shower, and forget about the relocation details for a few hours. As is seeing the Indians beat the Sox at Brooks' first American League game!
~ Three nights in a row of going to sleep at 2am and getting up at 6:30 won't kill a healthy mom. Having a newborn is good training for an international move.

When I stop and think about leaving our first home, where we returned after our honeymoon and came home from the hospital with Brooks... so many important life moments! I just can't let myself think of that right now. I sobbed when I moved out of Home & Pleasant four summers ago, even though I was about to marry the man of my dreams and was moving to the city to be near him. I think I tend to get attached to "space" and "home"... maybe that's part of my southern-ness? Anyway, there's too much in front of me to reflect on all of that now. I'm so glad that we'll be back in Chicago next weekend... perhaps I'll sneak over here with Eric and Brooks and take a few snapshots on the front porch - some mirror shots to our homecoming picks with our newborn last November.

Finally, our favorite quotes:

Mine (from one of the movers to his on-site supervisor) - "Wow, these guys are really organized. If I mess this up, you guys definitely should fire me."

Eric's (from one mover to another) - "Dude, you won't believe the cool poster I found out by the dumpster!! It's this horizontal Michael Jordan photo with him palming a basketball. Sweet! It's definitely going in my dorm next month."