Full Shelves and an Overflowing Heart

I'm going to go ahead and admit I allowed myself to experience way too much apprehension about the arrival of our shipment.  It's just that everything involved in the process of moving overseas has had some kind of setback--usually a significant setback--one that made me want to pull my hair out and start claiming monkeys could do people's jobs better than they could.

Yeah, not pretty.

But you can understand how I was unwilling to believe all of our things would appear without issue.

But they did.

All of them.  And nothing broken beyond repair (although John might argue what that point of repair is).  Our movers were fantastic--they arrived on time and helped me unpack most of the boxes they carried up.  They took all the extra paper and cardboard with them and there was no issue with the language barrier.  Hallelujah!  

Most of our stuff was out of boxes and put away or at least delegated a room that first day and the past few days have been spent putting things together like our desk and the girls' play kitchen.  The long and the short of it is: our house is now a home. I've come to realize that my worry had no grounds--I was the one to pack away our things, after all.  The majority of our boxes were for the kitchen, for the girls, or books and pictures. 

Words cannot express how happy my heart is to have my mother's pottery back in the kitchen with me.  I'm used to my mother being ever-present in my home...in the dishes I eat off of, the mug I find peace in, the soap I wash with, the rugs I walk on, even the art on the walls. We might have lived apart for a long time, but my mother has always had a strong presence in my daily life; living for months without that same warm feeling emanating from every room has made things a little more empty.  Now I am surrounded by her presence again and all the old familiar spirits have come with her in our shipment as well.  If you have ever gifted me with a kitchen utensil, sent me a card or a care package in the mail--you are in my daily life--in my prayers in my happy thoughts, bringing a smile to my face as I make coffee, flip pancakes and fry bacon. 

In direct contrast to my fears, I find I am not overwhelmed with stuff, but with happy familiarity. I cannot possibly tell you how you are ALL in my life, but you're here--in Vienna.  With me.  Bringing me comfort as I walk along this path. 

No more empty shelves...just full hearts