It’s abundantly clear that Michael and I have different packing styles. Me, I like to group like items with like. What a concept, huh? Pack towels with the other towels. Pack books together in one box. Fragile things: together. Michael, on the other hand, thinks of towels as packing material, to cushion, say, his computer. And books? Why, they go with the coffee cups, of course! Soccer ball? Basketball? In with the rocking horse!
Unpacking will be interesting.
And I haven’t even begun to discuss the labeling process.
Packing the children’s rooms was an event in itself. They had done some packing themselves before their father came and unfairly whisked them off to humid-hell, PA, mostly, they said, to ensure that I didn’t throw away important items. They know me too well. I’m sorry, but I am unable to discern whether that lump of kleenex has been fashioned into a saddle blanket for a horse, or is clothing for a gnome, or if it’s just a…..used kleenex. (Don’t tell them, but for the record, anything kleenex was determined to be Trash. Shhh. There were FOUR. BAGS. OF TRASH. In their rooms. FOUR. I’m going to hell, I know, for Throwing Away Valuable Items. Like menus from Applebee’s. And orange peels. And crayon nubbins. And mangled pipe cleaners. Valuable!)
So here I am, making piles of like items, knowing that it will likely be me unpacking what I’m packing, so why not make it easier, right? Books here, playsilks there, Breyer horses, stuffed animals. But what’s this? Under the leopard family is a….red monkey. The kind that lives in a Barrel of Monkeys with 12 other monkeys who can all link arms in one long chain that reaches, when all monkeys are joined, from floor to ceiling. (They swing nicely from ceiling fans, by the way. In case you didn’t know this already. Every household should have just such a Barrel O’ Fun.)
So. One Red Monkey. Drop him in his barrel.
Next. All these playsilks? They’re spread out over the entire room, making homes for various animal families. Apparently. My, Serena’s been busy this summer! Okay. Bears. Pick them up, toss them (oh so gently) into a box to be labeled “Serena’s Animals”. Under them, under the golden silk, is: Another Red Monkey.
Jewels! Little colored glass stones that people use to fill vases, oh so pretty! But in this house they are Jewels. Here’s a tiny basketful. Let’s put them in the jar with all the other jewels, shall we? Oh, what’s this? Under the jewels: a Red Monkey.
In the crayon box: a Red Monkey.
In Nathaniel’s desk under all his drawings: a Red Monkey.
In the closet under the shelves: a Red Monkey.
In the nightstand drawer: a Red Monkey.
In the basket of blocks? Underwear, of course! And: a Red Monkey.
I still don’t think I found them all though.
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