All the tasks we do before, during and after a move help us adapt to our new dwelling. It is usually the tiny details, like hanging up that last picture, that make us feel like we’ve always lived there. However, there always seems to be some little reminder that pops up and makes you feel like you’re a little greener in your new surroundings than you thought. Here are thoughts and musings for all the recently moved and almost adapted:
You’re not settled into your new home until that panic feeling stops awakening you every morning when you open your eyes and say, “where the heck am I?” The feeling is very similar to the one felt when staying overnight with friends or family, or even more so, when booked at a hotel.
You’re not settled into your new home until you begin to receive those letters that include return address labels with your name on them. Although you don’t always make the donation to whatever cause it is, you end up using the labels anyway. On a side note, this morning I wondered how incredibly ridiculous it would be to make address labels for my friends and families with a letter attached asking for donations of 5, 10 or 100 dollars.
You’re not settled into your new home until you stop looking in the wrong drawers and cabinets in the kitchen for what you need. The ridiculous part is that you’re most likely the one that organized them. After four months in our new home, I’m still opening the wrong drawer for silverware, yet I refuse to change the layout.
You’re not settled into your new home until you stop reaching for the wrong switch to turn on the lights. This can set your settled in feeling back six months to a year. If it makes you feel any better, our foyer has 13 light switches. At this rate, it’s going to be two years before I can shake that new feeling.
Finally, you’re not settled into your new home until you have to take a moment to remember your most recent, previous address. The longer the pause, the more adapted you are to what was once a new neighborhood and town. Phone numbers don’t count on this one, because if you’re anything like me you still pause to remember the cell phone number you’ve had for the last five years.