Moving and The Nature of Things

I’ve been finding it hard to come here regularly. (Which, let’s be real, may or may not be the overarching narrative of this blog.) But with some big changes coming up, an international move on the horizon, and all the associated tasks, not to mention a string of visitors and some serious travel, I’ve been operating at maximum capacity with minimal bandwidth.

And pace is unlikely to let up until we’ve landed in China. Mr. Chef is about to leave for two and a half weeks, and I’ve got an intense couple of weeks of work ahead of me. Then we’ll all head off off on an amazing family adventure to Australia, and then maybe a trip to Singapore? The movers will come, and there’s a visit from a friend to look forward to. Plus there’s a birthday party to plan, a leaving party to organise, and all the tasks on our “Jakarta Bucket List” that we’d like to do before we go.

Much of time I’m wondering and worrying about all the tasks, monumental and incidental, that accompany a move. So much of what there is to do must wait until our move is almost upon us. Still, I have a need for feeling like I’m making progress towards a state of idea organisation (which is totally a mirage, i get it) so I’m gathering documents, writing packing lists, planning out what toys will fit in our suitcases which will come by boat, and waisting so much time endlessly searching for apartments in an effort to make known what is essentially unknowable until our feet finally land on Chinese soil.

This is our seventh international move as Team Knecht. And while no move is painless, I am getting better at accepting the mystery of uncharted future. I’m better able to accept that in seasons like this one, where upheaval and unknowns sap my energy, imperfection will reign. I’m not getting to the gym as much as I like; my patience is limited; my apartment is in a fairly serious state of disarray (like, why organise the bathroom when we’re about to pack everything in boxes???); and my commitment to the kitchen is feeble (can we talk for a moment about how last night’s dinner was rice and french fries? And how I ended up wearing most of the rice?) 

But that’s the nature of this time. It’s crazy, and in the interest of sanity, I’ll let some things go. Work and family time will trump the gym. Baskets of laundry will just be. There will probably be a lot more french fries in the foreseeable future. And a lot fewer vegetables. And that’s just the way things are.