Only a week before the planned flight takes off. I notice I am getting done with the in-between fase. The packing and getting rid off my belongings one way or other is almost finished and I am ready to go. I am done wondering, it is time to dive in.

While I was able to sell some things that took up quite some space (couch, chairs, laundry machines) there is still plenty to store away. Even though I move to Türkiye to start a life there, I chose to rent a storage space for the things I didn’t sell or could not part with yet. And also in case it doesn’t work out in Türkiye. It gives some peace to know there is something I can fall back on.

It is also an interesting thing to notice that while I am going through my things I get to check how I relate to my interests and hobbies. A few years ago I was all about historical costumes and how to make them. While the material was still here, lingering in case the spark would someday return, it was time to decide it was fun while it lasted. It feels right to part with those things and regain some space.

At the same time I thought my interest in wool had withered too. There had been a felt work laying on my floor for half a year, ready to be felted, but I would always find an excuse not to do it. Until this week, because felted wool takes up less space than fluffy balls of unfelted wool. I realised then that I actually really enjoy doing this and that I want to continue this in Türkiye as well.

I want to give a little piece of unsolicited advice. If you are going to move, wether it is abroad or just around the corner, give yourself the time to go through your stuff, if you can, before you put everything in boxes. I know it adds to the chaos first and you might wonder how on earth you got to collect so many things and still find meaning to most of them (talking from my own experience here). But it can help you get a sense of what makes you you and what is no longer fitting to drag along. And if you can give some things away to others, it might feel less hard to part with it.

Storing things away if you can not part with it yet is also a good way to see if you can do without them. My box with things to bring got more piled than I could put in my luggage. So I will make sure the box is easily reachable at the storage place. As I am abroad I will keep a list of things that I did not bring, but really miss, so when I visit my family in winter I can get to those easily.

As I mentioned, this fase is getting to an end. I am looking ahead, dreaming about the things I can do. As I am sorting out the books I come across the line:

“Be quiet and watch. Don’t try to do too much too quickly: wait at least a year before you try to make any changes. Spend more time watching and listening respectfully, than talking.”

Using Textile Art and Handcrafts in Therapy with Women – Ann Futterman Collier

The book moves from the “disgard” pile to the “keep” pile. A good piece of advice. My eyes often wander to what could improve a place and I caught myself thinking how I could do so in my new home town. Yet a foreigner going about telling and wanting to change all kinds of things, while hardly have settled down herself, might not be the best first impression. There will be a time and place for everything. “Yavaş, yavaş.”

With love, Elianne