Now things changed again, and we have moved once more. This time we are in the heart of the shomer Shabbos community and we even have shomer Shabbos next door neighbors! For over a quarter of a century of living out of town, we have never lived side by side with anyone other than non-Jews. Now, every Shabbos we see people strolling outside, and cannot believe how differently it feels to live among other observant Jews.
Our move was a week after Rosh Hashanah, two and a half weeks after school had begun, and seven weeks after our son’s out-of-state wedding. It was truly a chaotic time. The Yomim Tovim were upon us, and yet here I was packing up the kitchen.
To begin the moving process I decided, perhaps foolishly, to scrub the new house. Yes, the new house was clean, but I had avoided dealing with decisions of what to pack in the old house. Even while the movers were carrying out furniture and boxes, I had not yet finished sorting and packing. Our move took another day. It also took several trips back to the old house to make sure it was in pristine condition
The day after our move, my children had trouble finding clean clothes and packing lunches for school. For a long time, I felt disoriented and defeated.
It’s been a couple of months now. At first – it was chaos. Total confusion. A lack of clarity – and boundaries. A big mishmash.
But it is different now. There is order in my home. I can find things, and I am trying hard to maintain our home better, putting things away faster and staying more organized.
We all love order, and perhaps that is why Hashem created the world in disarray first. To teach us to desire order – to help us take small steps and not overreach – to be proud of our daily accomplishments. And of course, when it’s all over, and every box is unpacked, we should never forget to rest!
