HOME SWEET HOME

 

It’s time to leave. It’s really heart breaking. After long twelve years of dwelling, we are leaving our home. Our home, it is the place where we found all our happiness. We were not sure that we could find it anywhere else. And that was the only doubt we had while shifting from our house. While parting, if you experience this much trauma, a very intriguing question arises. ‘Does a home have life?’ Yes, it has life when you feel that it is a part of your own life. Also, this move was inevitable, as we wished to give our family the best opportunities in a new place.

We were able to surpass this emotional wilderness, when conferred with another task which followed it. That is to shift things from here to there. Before you start the actual move, there are a lot of things to be done.  At first, we were excited. We planned and prepared carefully, as we haven’t moved in quite some. We brought many cartons which would be sufficient enough to fill all the things. That was the first thing we did. ‘Well begun is half done.’

Next comes the job of Sorting things, which is a stressful job. We started emptying the cupboards one by one. I thought all our garments will fit in one. But it didn’t. We had to take more boxes. As soon as the boxes are filled, they are sealed with tapes and are labelled soon. Labelling the boxes is another important job, which should not be missed. Each person is assigned individual works. Everything went simultaneously. Children were assigned with the labelling job. For kitchen items itself we had to keep aside three different boxes, all vulnerable. Crockeries and cutleries went in to one box. All individually wrapped and stuffed with papers. The one thing for which we took great care while shifting was our plants. One by one, we carried them in our hands as they need more attention.

Later we realized that a separate box should be kept for a different purpose. We labelled it the ‘Donation Box’. All the old books and things which are not in use went into it. No sooner did I finish packing it than the children approached, with an exquisite small box and said, ‘we want to donate too.’ I was surprised, ‘what it would be?’ I opened it and saw a box full of toys. Happily, their father received it with his both hands and placed it inside the donation box.

After some time, the sorting process slowed down. It’s taking away a lot of our time. Then we took a box and named it ‘Miscellaneous’ and filled it with all the stuff. You will never know how much things you had accumulated until you move home. There are still many more things to be packed and shifted. The initial excitement turned into dismay.  As and as, we packed we understood that the boxes will not be sufficient to carry all the stuff. It was a humongous task.

We were as if swept by an avalanche.  The most difficult part of it is yet to come. The transportation of washing machine, fridge, oven and all the furniture. At this juncture, it was a great relief that some of our friends came enthusiastically to help us. Some furniture we dismantled to make the transportation easy, but some others were dismantled only to be thrown out. In the middle of all these an unexpected thing happened. The keys are missing. I used to keep all the keys in a small box in the cupboard. While shifting things from the cupboard, unknowingly I would have packed it in one of the boxes. And in spite of all the sorting and labelling, I can’t remember in which box it went. I had to toss for it. With little hope I opened one of the boxes. And it was not there. Suddenly an intuition hits me, and I opened the second one. And there lies our hero, the small box of keys. Good Heavens! I was really petrified for a couple of moments.

Despite all this chaos we were very careful in handling things while shifting. Because we are not just leaving a house. We were very particular that our house should be in very good condition while we hand it over to another family. They should be happy to take it from us. As I mentioned above, we were not sure that we will find the same happiness in another place. Our home was very special for us. Obviously, it is very difficult to leave.

Now we are in our new home. It’s not easy to start over in a new place. But every place holds a surprise. The sweetest thing we realized is that we had carried it along with us. Truly, a home is what you take with you and not what you leave behind.