Mass chaos is occurring in the Burnett household. We are making a major adjustment. After just a few days of the siesta-inducing heat and chit-chatty cashiers of Florida, Mel is so despondent that she had to go to the nearest SuperTarget just to get a dose of Minnesota-bred organization and efficiency. “You want that? Let me ring you up right away! And yes, I will solve your problem immediately without first resting for no reason for 5 minutes in this chair while looking at you!” Also, Target’s high-powered A/C was much appreciated. So Florida is “inhospitable” this time of year, according to Tommy. We should get used to it, likely after our cat finishes shedding all of her hair…
Of course the heat isn’t helping with the other things we are doing. As a family, we are faced with the task of taking the contents of what was 10 ceiling-high bookshelves and packing our finest selections into 4 measly shelves. We have taken the contents of full armoires and closets, picked out shorts and T-shirts, and shoved them into 2 drawers each. Mel had to put some underwear in the bilge for long-term storage. That’s right, our closet is now called, “the bilge.” And Mel’s underwear is floating in it.
We are tripping over boxes and our depressed cat. Sterilite, Rubbermaid, Hefty, and Ziploc should film a commercial on our boat. Because that is what we are cramming everything into. When Greg, who filled one storage cabinet with large cases with the word, “Dewalt” on them, suggested I offload Allie’s one bucket of art supplies to preserve room, Mel had to remind him that we are building a home, not a floating toolbox.
And then there are the smells. Greg assures us that he has a “Smell Action Plan.” Mel would like the “Smell Action Plan” to be higher priority than the “Inverter project,” “Solar panel project,” “Water filter project,” “Infrared camera project,” and all of the others things he needs to do to get the boat ready to plow through the 25 kt winds of the Caribbean to a foreign land that doesn’t have SuperTargets. Too bad everything can’t be done at once, but as soon as one employs a helper, one seems to be out $500…At least the “Wi-Fi booster” project is done! The 3G speed, however, is underwhelming to our poor children. (I admit it, I am uploading this at a Starbucks…)
Mel assures the good reader that soon the tone of these writings will brighten. She believes the oral typhoid vaccine is making us all grumpy. And we will adjust to our new surroundings eventually. But she can tell you, those guys on TV who want to move into a tiny house to keep life “simpler” are way off. Life is far from simple so far!
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