Monday 20 February 2012

Moving out

I have to clear out the house and manage this transition in a way that minimises the screaming, tears, sorrows and partings.

So my first question is, How much crap can we store in drawers? (Lots.)

Squirrel is by far the worst hoarder. She keeps everything, from torn-up ferry tickets to clothes that don't fit her, to unfinished items of craft sporting one wiggly eye.

I say to her, What are you going to do with your rock collection? Without a beat she answers, Take it home.

So that's no problem. Transporting (illegally, probably) the rocks and minerals of Hong Kong back to the shires where we already store the contents of Cornwall and the possessions of a Suffolk beach.

I jolly everyone along with a first stab. (Tiger refuses to join in.) We tip out a few drawers and compose scrapbooks, with my aim to produce a ton of cut-up paper for the recycling bin and a neat record to fit into a suitcase.


Honestly, this process of packing up and moving out is going to be hard work. I shall have to keep this record if only to figure out how to do it.

8 comments:

nappy valley girl said...

You're leaving HK?

I wonder if you'll miss it....

Grit said...

hi nappy valley girl! well, yes and no. it's complicated.

sharon said...

Best suggestion I can offer is to give each of the girls a box (the size of which you chose!) and say everything they want to take back to the UK MUST fit in that box. Anything else is going, going, gone to whatever passes for the tip on Lammas Island. It's hard packing up and moving across the world. I know we brought things here and I wonder why ??! and there were other things I was kicking myself over abandoning. Thankfully our feet are firmly attached to the ground here and we will never move that far again.

ruesedaine said...

Wonder if you and your Gritlets would be interested in attending this book talk "Exploring the Bhagavad Gita: Philosophy, Structure and Meaning" by Ithamar Theodor? http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/bookclub
Have a safe trip.

Angela said...

It gives ccomfort when you can take memories home with you, even if you throw them away later. But there must be a limit, and they have to decide. Oh, difficult. For all of you. In two years you grow roots.

R. Molder said...

Finally done with Hong Kong??? No moving back?

Grit said...

sharon, i am dumping my clothes and packing up the craft items. we are not parting with the stamps you sent us. no.way.

thanks, ruesedaine, i had overlooked the bhagavad gita in our family reading, but now you come to remind me of it, the stories of all-out sibling punch ups are perfectly pitched.

hi angela, you are right. the little girls have had some experiences here that i would think are growing their inner emotional life, and for that they may never forget this time in hk.

but i'm expecting we'll be back at some point, probably on a different footing.

Grit said...

hi rachel! we'll be back in hk; dig has work here so will continue to be based here for odd times; atm me and the kids are not expecting to live here for 6mnths of the year though.