Ian and I have known each other seven years. In that time, we have moved – majorly, like entire lives in boxes, needing storage units and large trucks – five times. Now, I’m packing for Move Number Six. It’s a shorter move, just down the road 10 minutes, not to another state (or country!), but it still means everything goes in boxes and we need to rent a truck. We have many of the boxes from previous moves, some that date all the way back to Santa Barbara, all nicely pre-labeled so I don’t have to think much about what goes in to which. It’s handy, but I think I’m going to have a Ceremonial Box Disposal when this move is done. This time, we are planning to stay in one place for more than two years. In fact, I think we should have a party in three years, just to say “It’s the longest we’ve ever lived in one place!”

When we were traveling Europe, I did most of the packing every time we checked out of a hotel. I came to think of it as “erasing ourselves”, making sure we didn’t leave anything behind, removing all traces that we’d been there. Which wasn’t really the case because there was trash in the trash can and we’d slept in the bed so it’s not like the room was ready for the next guests or anything. But still, that’s how I thought of it.

And for this move, the thought’s come back to me. We’re erasing ourselves in one location so we can draw ourselves into another. Kind of like Harold and his purple crayon, drawing ourselves where we want to be. I just hope I’ve drawn enough boxes for all the stuff and enough friends to help us move them all.