The Wooden Wine Shelf

I'm very grateful for the corporate move assistance. But it doesn't mean everything is good to go, sadly. And so tonight, after an insanely long day between doctor appointments and work, I found myself walking my wooden wine shelf from where the movers had placed it in the corner of the living room all the way into the kitchen. As I painstakingly moved across the living and dining room, front entry, into the kitchen, I had quite a lot of time to reflect. 

First I reflected on my mother, and the furniture-moving she instilled in me. The woman was often pregnant or just had a baby, but all that be darned- we would be furniture moving! Every work trip my dad left on was sure to see a makeover for a room in the house. If he didn't like it, everything reset on his next trip. We moved the piano several different places along the wall. And I remember the heavy bedroom armoire that we somehow managed from the garage, and up a precarious flight of stairs to its final resting place. We got adept at moving a bookshelf each individually, and even managed the heavy treadmill upstairs once. No piece of furniture stood a chance against my mother's will, and her army of daughters (the sons were not grown at this point in Anand history).  

   Next I reflected on the shelf itself. I purchased it off Facebook marketplace, in deepest darkest Kentucky. I had just bought my condo in Ohio, and the giant dining room needed a few pieces. I fell in love with the storage cubbies of this shelf (designed for wine bottles, but has never once held wine in my house lol) and the good price I got for it. I loaded it into the bed of my truck with assistance from the seller lady. Sadly, it did not fit securely into the bed, any angle I tried. Nonetheless, I plowed on. After a few miles though, I realized I could not make it the 6+ hour drive back home, so I stopped at a local Home Depot and made my big girl purchase- bungee cords and a set of thick truck straps! The fact that I had no idea how to work a set of rachet straps didn't daunt me. It took a bit, but between YouTube, a helpful employee, and some trial and error I learned how to use rachet straps and secured my shelf all the way home to Twinsburg. 

It's interesting to reflect on myself now. No longer the girl who could push through anything to move the furniture, and no longer the girl who wasn't daunted by equipment she'd never used. I'm a tired woman now, and recently have been longing for the simplicity of the familiar and the comforts of settled life. 

Moving the shelf into the kitchen took all my physical energy and what little emotional reserves I had left. The homesickness has hit somewhat this weekend, and the chaos of my house is still a long way from finding peace in my apartment. Gratefully, I messaged a friend, and was glad for a robust conversation that distracted me enough from my woes, at least enough to fill the empty evening. 

So that's Jen's Monday night thoughts. All brought on by a simple wooden wine shelf. That now sits in its permanent home in the kitchen :)