I've just completed a PCS move, so I have a lot to write about, but the thing I'm currently struggling with is how to get back on track. I'm a pretty regimented person and I usually operate on a strict schedule. I wake-up at 7:00 a.m., eat my breakfast and get to work. I break for lunch between 12:00 and 12:30, squeeze in my Yoga Booty Ballet between 2:00 and 3:00, shower and get back to work. Dinner is between 6:30 - 7:00. Well, you get the idea.
A PCS move throws everything out of whack.
I have a three day rule when we PCS. I want my house totally put together in three days. When my immediate environment is in chaos, I find it hard to function. Did I mention that I'm a bit anal-retentive?
Monday morning at 11:00, the big truck pulled up to deliver my household goods. At 5:00, the truck pulled away and left me with 306 boxes and a house in utter disarray. I immediately began to tackle the boxes. My plan for Monday was to have the kitchen, dining room and living room set-up. For the most part, that goal was reached. In fact, on Tuesday morning when the Direct TV technician arrived and asked how long we had been here, I said, "one day."
"Wow. You already have pictures on the wall down here?"
"Yep. She's good," said my husband.
"No, I'm not good." I replied, "I've just had a lot of experience."
Day two left me wide awake at 5:30 a.m. trying to sort out the biggest mess you have ever seen in your life upstairs. Our new house is half the size of our old house, so the movers couldn't place boxes in the rooms they belonged. They had to stack them anywhere there was room, floor to ceiling. As you might imagine, unpacking was a major challenge. I couldn't simply unpack all the boxes for the master bedroom, put the contents up and move on to the next room. The boxes were in no particular order. Some of the master bedroom boxes were stacked behind boxes for the office and the guest bedroom. Yeah, real fun. The only way to make a dent in the boxes was to tear into them, dump the contents in the middle of whatever room they wound up in (including the bathrooms) and sort through them later once they had all been emptied. I literally had piles of clothes, toiletries and office supplies in every room upstairs. A tornado couldn't have left the level of chaos that I had created.
About 2:30 in the afternoon, I was wiped out. I felt as if I were working and working but getting nowhere. I cleared off a small section of the guest bed and took a nap for an hour and a half. I'm not a napper, so that decision came back to bite me when I couldn't get to sleep that night.
Finally, on day three, I began to see a difference. There was still chaos, but it was organized chaos, so I could deal with that. By the time I went to bed Wednesday night, progress was visible, but not enough to allow me to get a good night's sleep.
All day Thursday was spent on situating those odds and ends that didn't seem to have a logical home. Most went down to the basement.
Today, I found myself restless. I haven't worked out in far too long. I'm up much earlier than usual and in bed much later than usual. I am not eating on any particular schedule, in fact, I don't even have a schedule. I haven't been able to answer email or get any work done. I feel completely discombobulated and disorganized. My body is tired and it feels like I'll never get back to normal. I know things will settle down, they always do, but right now, I'm just longing for a routine. Flying by the seat of my pants is great when I'm on vacation, but a PCS move is anything but a vacation and I want to get my life back. Like yesterday.
Ah well, I think I'll go take a nap now, or have a glass of wine, or hang a few pictures. I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to be doing at 4:00 on a Friday afternoon. Wonder if I'm supposed to be blogging.....
