Cardboard Rectangles of Doom

Boxes, boxes, boxes... I am surrounded. They are everywhere I look. Too bad they aren’t already filled. Some of them aren’t even put together. But full or not, I am encompassed by them none the less. To go along with the scores of boxes, in various stages of completion, are our belongings. Semi organized piles of things we have accumulated over the years, waiting to be sifted through and either stuffed into one of these infernal boxes or discarded. And we can’t forget the chaos. Complete and utter chaos. As you may have guessed, we are moving.

They say there is an art to packing a box to move. I say Michelangelo has nothing to worry about. Obviously I am no artist. So I gather boxes from various stores, find all the newspapers I never got around to recycling, and get to the store to buy packing tape and Sharpies to label things. It should be smooth sailing from there, right? Famous last words.

I carefully gathered my knick knacks from my living room and set out to wrap them for packing. Since we have pets, this in itself can be a challenge. The minute I start to place stuff on the floor, every pet, including the bird, wants to inspect the new items in their domain. After all, these things have never been there before therefore they must be sniffed. So I shoo the dogs, cat, and yes, the bird away from my knick knacks and sit down on the floor to wrap. Now, I am almost 40 years old so I don’t sit on the floor often. That act alone gets the dogs excited. Me sitting on the floor must mean it is extreme petting time. Why else would I be down there with them? Once again I corral my herd away from my work area and set to my chore. As I reach for my first newspaper I noticed (thankfully it was sooner than later) that my bird had taken full advantage of the paper I had set just outside of his cage. At least he knew where to go.

Finally I got the beasts out of the way and set to work. The packing went well and I was quickly on my way to finishing the living room. Just I was reaching for the Sharpies to label the boxes (curse those boxes) and patting myself on the back for a job well done, I saw it. There, sitting next to the markers, silently mocking me and my packing skills, was the packing tape. I had forgotten to close and seal the bottoms of my boxes. Did I mention how much I hate those boxes?

After unloading, taping up and reloading the boxes, I finally got my living room packed. It was time to put them in the spare room with the other, you guessed it, boxes that we had already packed up. As I was trying to organize them by room, I noticed some had been packed and sealed without being labeled. I guess we will have some surprises when we unpack too. In the mean time, here I sit, surrounded by boxes. They are everywhere I look. Too bad they aren’t already filled. I’m just sayin’.