Moving-Out Day

We moved out of our apartment yesterday, but not yet into the house. We’re staying for a few weeks at my parents’ place as we finish renovations. The ceilings at the house are mostly painted (I’ve moved on to caulking and painting the trim); the kitchen cabinets are installed and the countertop is pending; some more plaster work needs to happen before we can paint the walls; Electrical, Plumbing, HVAC, also need to come in to do their final installations. And we’re still missing a garage door and one uncommonly-sized closet door.

So: 1) We’re really really close and 2) there’s still much work to do. Seems like a pretty accurate description of my year so far.

Still, I’ve been sticking to my morning routine, and have only missed one morning of writing despite it being one of the busiest weeks in my life. On Thursday I also attended the award ceremony for the Kresge Arts Fellowship. Of the many things that have stuck from that night, the one that comes to mind right now is the mantra from 2010-Fellow Monica Blaire who the closing performance: “Your process is a superpower.”

Your process is a superpower. Never have I felt that more. I know process can refer to the big, mysterious, underground-lake kind of process, but when I heard the word that night, I went straight to my morning routine: I put the kettle on, do the dishes while the water’s boiling, make coffee, meditate, stretch, make tea, start a 30-minute internet block, journal, work on the novel.

It’s how I wrote this, surrounded by moving boxes. It’s how I’m keeping my promises, to myself and others. And it’s something I’m going to have to re-find two more times in the coming weeks, first in this limbo in my childhood home, then when we’re finally (finally!) in the new house.