"Sussing Out" our Stuff

The day John Paul and I have been waiting for has finally arrived – the movers showed up on Wednesday, March 4th with the container full of our most prized possessions from home. We would finally have proper plates to eat off of…and more than 2 pairs of pants to wear to work. What more could we ask for??? As anticipated, the moment I got off of work, I went into high gear getting everything unpacked and put away. Unpacking is a chore that I secretly love to do – my way – and before our stuff even arrived, it was understood that I would do the majority of the ‘putting away’. As you can imagine, John Paul didn’t put up much of a struggle and was happy to play his guitar for entertainment while I organized. Not a bad deal. But I also know that if John Paul helped put things away I would be finding duct tape and screwdrivers in the bathroom drawer (this actually happened by the way) and potato chips in the laundry room. Now, I will stick up for John Paul and state that he is really a pretty clean guy – but somewhere in the male anatomy there is a piece of DNA that does not distinguish the difference between ‘cleaning up’ and putting something out of sight. This characteristic, in turn, makes me go crazy looking for things because there is a greater chance of the item being somewhere completely random vs. where it would actually make sense. My dad proved this theory correct when I opened up the kitchen cupboard and found his toothbrush and toothpaste sitting alongside the glasses. When I questioned him about it – he explained that sometimes he wanted to brush his teeth after he ate toast. Well, DUH, what was I thinking?
So as we were chipping away at the boxes – we asked ourselves over and over – “Why the hell did we think that we needed this?” After living with so little for three months, it seemed ridiculous to think that we needed so much. Before packing up our home in Huntersville, we spent days “streamlining” our clothes and household items. The funny (and/or scary) part is that 40% of our possessions are still in a storage unit in the US.
The advantage to being the one who did most of the unpacking (and also being the one who posts all the blog entries) is that I can comment on some of the silly things that John Paul thought necessary to tote ½ way around the world.
1. His trusty bartenders file box full of index cards with drink recipes on them (circa 2000). He swears that he’s referenced some of the recipes in the past 9 years – but I don’t think grabbing an index card for a scrap piece of paper really counts.
2. FIFTEEN PAIRS OF JEANS. There are only 2 kinds of people that feel the need to have 15 pairs of jeans: Gay men and females. Period. Just kidding, boo….or am I???
3. An arsenal of sports equipment. John Pauls list: A bike, bike rack, 2 tennis rackets, 2 racquetball rackets, 2 baseball bats, cleats, 2 baseball gloves, 2 frisbees, golf clubs, golf balls, corn hole bean bags, 2 footballs, basketball. Brooke’s list: 2 tennis rackets, a can of tennis balls, & a soccer ball. Too bad John Paul didn't pack his parachute and fold up monkey bars - then he could have negotiated recess to be included in his work day.

To take a LITTLE responsibility for myself – I did insist on taking an obnoxious number of bath towels and sheets. I also insisted on bringing tons of serving bowls and platters for ‘entertaining.’ Seriously, Brooke…..who are you expecting to have over? The property manager for our housing complex? The prime minister?

All jokes aside - our place is all set up and looks great. Even with our crammed closets, I am so thankful to have the thing we love to make it feel more like home. Now we just need some visitors!! :)