Oh, the heartbreak and joy of moving on in life
As I told you last time, I got a job in London. And so for the last week or so I have been hurriedly packing up my Devon life and saying my goodbyes.
Two things have struck me about the packing up side: firstly how much ‘stuff’ I have accumulated over the years; and then how the most unlikely material possession can prompt such vivid memories.
Given this move is all about a new start for me, I was keen to sort my belongings and clear out the rubbish so I could start afresh. It was this desire to clear out that led me to inadvertently dumping all my jeans and trousers in a recycling bank before realising, returning and managing to retrieve them just in time! I fully expect to appear on Crimewatch and to counter accusations of theft, I even did a theatrical mopping of my brow so that any CCTV cameras recorded my relief along with me depositing the correct black bin bag of rags into the bank.
My ruthlessness in throwing things out paid off a little - the local charity shop is now stocked largely with my books, clothes, DVDs and clutter and in total I think I made six trips to the charity shop and about as many to the rubbish tip. Even so, I still had countless boxes of things to transport to the South East.
In going through cupboards the memories flowed, and not just prompted from the obvious items like photos and letters. For example the vase I found at the back of a cupboard, given to me by a friend just before we headed into Exeter for a night on the town and I locked us out and we ended up sleeping the night in my car. Then there were the fantastic gadgets bought and left unused for years. The chocolate fountain was a great idea until we didn’t set it up properly and it jammed. That night my friends and I spent the evening dismantling it and scooping out hardened chocolate using screwdrivers to avoid wasting any!
Eventually after quite a few stressful days, my remaining possessions were packed and I was ready to move. After getting ridiculous quotes (one company quoted £1500 whilst another offered a bargain of £750 but I would have to be without my possessions for 10 days!) I had decided to move myself with the help of a friend. Thankfully he turned out to be a genius at packing vans and as a result we got everything in a 7 ½ tonne van! He was also endlessly patient, not even flinching when I mentioned that I needed to pack a bale of hay for my guinea pigs. What can I say? Love me, love my guinea pigs...
So after much heavy lifting and driving (and yes I did both – girl power and all that!) we arrived at my temporary home and started to unload. I was met by my Dad and sister who largely got in the way, but also my young nephew who took on the task of operating the tail-lift of the van much to his delight. After 3 hours I was unpacked and I’d filled another house.
A few days on and I still have some boxes to unload but generally the house is in some form of order. I am beginning to feel like my new adventure is underway and for the first time in over a year I’m looking forward rather than backwards or worrying about the present.
Despite all the stress, the hardest part of it all was the final drive away from my house, from Devon, from my past and my friends. I have had both the happiest and saddest times of my life so far there and I’ll admit that I cried for at least the first hour of the journey. I don’t really understand that part as I’ll be back at the weekend. But then, I always was a drama queen.
Ali x
