Have you ever heard of Murphy's Law? It's the theory that says: Anything that can happen, will happen. I don't know about you, but Murphy's Law has followed me around for decades--and when I have I have moved, it has been there right with me like a bad habit! Here are a few tips to help you NOT lose your mind when Ol' Murphy strikes!
Expect the Unexpected - I believe on TV's Big Brother, they use this saying a lot to remind the viewers (and players) that something different will always happen. I can't tell you the number of times unexpected things have happened when I have moved! I shared in previous blog about the move where our car was totaled the day before we moved 500 miles away, and then the moving truck we rented broke down 5 times on the way to our destination and when we finally arrived to our destination it was 110 degrees and the air conditioning was out in our apartment. That was all just ONE MOVE. Then there was the move that was 10 hours away with 3 kids (Indiana to Florida) and I put all my precious houseplants in the back of the truck (stupid I know--it was December) and they were all dead when we arrived. It was COLD in Florida (when it usually wasn't in that area) and we turned on the furnace and smoked rolled out into the house. My middle son (the now realtor) was on the floor yelling "STOP DROP AND ROLL" as we all left to spend our first night in a hotel then too. I could go on and on....the point is when you are planning a move, you have everything plotted out as to how it will go in general--but until you are doing it, you can't be positive it's all going to go according to plan. So, PLAN that it won't! Keep in mind that there WILL BE things that come up that you don't expect. Period.
Nothing is Sacred - Good Ol' Murphy doesn't only work in a few areas. He works in ALL areas. Nothing is too big (or too small) to be hit with this law. Sometimes its doesn't happen when you are in the moving truck or arriving somewhere. Sometimes things happen BEFORE the move. Something goes wrong with the closing on your home, something happens with your family--sometimes a job affects when and how you move. One move, it went smooth in itself, but while we were loading the truck my 5 year old took off running out the door to see the truck and she missed the opening of the door by about an inch and had a huge, horrible goose egg on her forehead after she was knocked flat on her back! Another move, I was moving my mother out of the one home I really knew and before we were out the door for the last time, the new owners were in there painting the kitchen cabinets. Doesn't sound like anything bad in itself--it was just an emotional thing. Did I mention it was my birthday and my mother was moving in with me because she was ill? Like I said, NOTHING is SACRED.
You WILL Make it Through - All through these crazy Murphy's Law moves, we made it. Everything wasn't perfect. Sometimes there were injuries or things that were broken, but, NOTHING that destroyed the end goal. The move. In all my 30 something moves, the end result was NEVER that we didn't get moved in when we needed to nor become homeless because of Murphy's Law! So, keep that in mind. YOU WILL MAKE IT!
You WILL Laugh Later - This one may take years before you really laugh, but I can honestly say that some of those stories are now fond memories. Even the scary stories are now told like they are stories of honor that we survived this or that. On our move back to Indiana from Florida, it was also winter. My husband and my sons were in the moving truck in front of me and my daughters in our van. As we travelled north, the weather got colder and the roads were starting to be frozen over. I remember praying as I watched that big truck slide all over the road in front of me...it was terrifying. We made it to Kentucky before we could travel no more because of the snow and ice. We were close enough for my father-in-law and brother-in-law to come and rescue us and get us home the next day. Though it was scary--it's a fond memory of how family came through and we made it home all safe and sound.
Remember, Ol' Murphy may think he's got you down for the count during your move, but, in the end you always win.
--Jen Lush, Real Estate Assistant and Realtor Mother
