A Moving Experience

My younger years involved a series of moves—Denver to Minneapolis to San Antonio to Dallas to the New York metropolitan area.  My father was in the retail jewelry business and he and my mother decided to take new opportunities that bettered our lives.  It was unusual at the time; only military families made similar moves.

My father always went ahead to start the new job and to find us an apartment.  My mother was left to manage the move and pack all our possessions.  She never hesitated or complained; she simply did it—and did it well.

After we moved to the New York City area, Mom got a job as a transportation counselor for a corporate relocation company later acquired by Prudential.  Her job was to contact each corporate executive involved in the move (usually men at that time) and the executive’s spouse to discuss the scope of the move and to arrange for movers to pack, load and deliver their possessions. Naturally, she was great at this job. 

Mom also excelled at understanding the subtleties of the move—a wife who was unhappy about relocating or about her marriage— and understanding the psychological disruption of moving and relocating to the unknown.

This all comes to mind as I help our friend Wilhelmina move from Tucson to San Mateo to be closer to her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  She is 89 years old and has many valued and valuable possessions from her life around the world.

I feel my mother’s presence and wisdom as I guide Wilhelmina through each step, especially letting go of treasured possessions and memories.  Wilhelmina has bravely done all the work and is managing her move beautifully.

Still, what always resonates with me is how moving a moving experience can be.