Container blues...

I have container blues..

The boat that carries our container was supposed to arrive in Rio on the 12^th of August and then it was set to arrive,well, yesterday. And as of this morning no word on the blessed boat. The significance of this little bit of news may be lost on those who never had to deal with an overseas move- so let me try and explain.

Global nomads that we are, we deal with the challenges of periodic moves across the world every few years. When the time to close up shop in a country draws near, you try and find the most efficient and reliable moving company, then watch the movers pack every bit of material possession you have into boxes and finally cram all of them into this "40 ' HC container". When they finally put the seals on the locks and haul the whole thing on top of a truck, it is a symbolic gesture of closure. Closure of one stage of your life and a silent recognition that it is time to move on.

The container also has a significant part to play on your new destination: It is the last entry of the essentials checklist of a transition: Find a place to live, find a suitable school for the kids, get a car and yes, get settled. After living on bare essentials for weeks and even months, seeing the truck turn the corner of your street is a joy like no other. It is 20 Christmases or Eids coming to your home. Every little thing you unpack looks new-even if it has seen better days; every minute you spend arranging furniture her or there is also transition therapy. As you arrange your home, you arrange your thoughts and feelings about your new country, you make sense of it all. What I've learned on our last 6 moves is that when the last picture goes up on the wall, you're finally home.

So until I see the truck turn the corner on my street, I have container blues...