Moving into a new house comes with some challenges. Moving into a new house and unpacking with children comes with A LOT of challenges.
The first task you are faced with is quickly finding and unpacking the essentials so you can create a space that is functional enough to feed, bathe and dress your tiny humans amidst the chaos. The real challenge (at least for an a-type) is when you are all geared up, feeling organized and ready to unleash yourself into an unpacking fury….but this ends up resulting in half a box every 4-5 hours, 2 broken wine glasses and an injury of some sort.
Unpacking is just impossible when you are plagued with the constant interruptions and needs of your tiny humans inhabiting the disorganized space alongside you.
Nap time arrives and you finally have your chance! You unpack faster than Buzz Lightyear on speed. Tissue paper is flying and although you feel a little weak from sacrificing your lunch for the sake of unpacking, you keep pushing anyway.
Then…nap is over. You release the tiny humans into the pile of mass chaos made up of unpacked odds and ends covering every surface in the living room and you watch their faces in horror. They light up in slow motion like its Christmas morning. They proceed to play with every single household item you’ve unpacked. The measuring cups are suddenly cymbals, the candle holders are pillars in the fortress made from boxes and un-hung curtains and the random box of tampons lying around is now the cool new version of Lincoln Logs.
Then enters mommy guilt…the absolute worst kind of guilt there is. You attempt the usual self-affirmations to get you through:
- This was the right move
- The kids don’t mind sleeping on the floor for a week
- No toys for a month will be good for them
- He didn’t cry that much when that box fell on his head
Somehow the guilt still sets in. So to help with that, you decide you will stop the unpacking and head to the park. You can always unpack later right? Only later comes and once bedtime is in effect, the only thing you feel like doing is sitting on a box and enjoying some wine from a measuring cup.
This is what no one tells you about unpacking with children.
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