Slowly Coming Together

In the grand scheme of things, I suppose everything is coming together quite quickly. We learned only one week ago that we would be changing house, and we expect to be out of the hotel within one more week. Still, I feel as if I am constantly sitting and waiting for confirmation of one thing or another. We finally have verbal confirmation of nearly everything, which has me waiting for that last shoe to drop.

Should all go well, Uncle H-- will finalize our lease tomorrow. The landlord will move furniture into the house and make any last minute repairs on Wednesday and Thursday. We will receive the keys on Friday morning, as well as our boxes from Shanghai and the bunk beds we ordered for the girls. It seems that we have our room here at the hotel until Monday, although Dave wants to start sleeping in the new house by Saturday. Bunk beds need to be built; sheets and towels must be unpacked; kitchen counters and bathroom sinks must be scrubbed; toilets must be flushed multiple times. Shekou urban legend has it that rats do sometimes come through the pipes and up into the toilets in these houses, when the pipes have sat empty of water for too long. Lots and lots of flushing over the next few days. I can't get excited about Saturday, but it may be the most practical. Dave wants to get settled, and I can agree with that.

It is funny the things I am looking forward to. Although I know I will appreciate simply living in a home with everything I need around me, there are just a few items I miss on a daily basis:
- Q-tips
- a soft throw blanket
- Annika's floor blankets
- my kitchen ingredients
- hair clips

Honestly, that about does it. Often, time spent in hotels makes me realize how simply I could live. With the exception of those five things listed above (well, and baby formula), I could comfortably live without the rest of my boxes. But I am looking forward to falling into a regular routine, where I eat healthily, exercise on schedule and don't feel like I'm rushing everywhere.

Next post: Moving Day #4 - hopefully the final moving day. Then we'll need to figure out our internet connection, so be expecting a spotty connection over the next few days and weeks. But we will appreciate your prayers as we finally try to settle in.