Living Without Stuff

Moving overseas requires patience (something I don't have much of).  Movers packed our stuff up the week of July 5th.  As of today, August 9th, we don't have any of it and really no idea of when we can expect it.

Our worldly possessions are limited to the clothes in our suitcases, toiletries, 4 towels, 3 pillows, 2 plates, 2 bowls, a few pieces of flatware and our laptops.  I exaggerate, but not much. The house is empty!  We have some loaner furniture so we do have a place to sit and a place to sleep.

In this situation it is interesting to discover what one misses.  For me it isn't the luxury items or my unique possessions, I miss the simple stuff.  I miss having a bath mat so that when I step out of the shower I am not dripping on cold tile.  I miss coffee (I really miss coffee!).  I have the coffee, I just don't have a way of making it yet.  I miss my slippers - who knew I'd need them in August?  I missed having a vacuum cleaner.

None of these things are terribly valuable but they provide just that much more comfort, a bit of home, a bit of the familiar routine lacking these days.

When we visited the PX last week I was almost salivating over all the stuff they had.  They had bath mats and coffee makers and slippers and vacuums.  I could make my house comfortable now!  But I knew those things were coming (soon please) and so I exercised the little patience I have.  We did indulge ourselves a bit, as no vacuum cleaner was coming our way (voltage, amps, watts, currents of the US and Europe aren't the same) we bought one.

It was a strange delight to vacuum.  This is not activity I enjoy nor one I anticipate enjoying in the future.  But it was nice to vacuum up the grit and the dog hair tumbleweeds blowing through the house.

Living without stuff makes one appreciate the simple things and learn to be grateful for what one does have.  So for now I'll be grateful for my vacuum cleaner but I'm still eagerly anticipating the arrival of my stuff.