We’ve moved. We’re now living in Abiitan Mill City—a senior residence in downtown Minneapolis, across from MacPhail Center for Music and down the street from the Guthrie Theater. So—we are now urban-dwellers, for the first time in our lives!

The moving truck, which pulled up in front of our lawn last Thursday at 8 am in the morning, was (almost) as big as our house. Four guys and a truck—Action Movers–that’s who moved us. We were in awe—especially of two of the guys, DK and Sam, who carried the heaviest furniture on their backs, even down stairways.

We all arrived at Abiitan around noon and we ordered pizza and soda to sustain us. When they brought plants to go on our balcony and the first few items, I was thrilled. How wonderful that this could really be our home with our things…  Then, they brought more and more and more and more…. a tsunami of boxes. There was no room to move. Every inch of floor was piled with boxes. Our new apartment looked more like a disorganized warehouse than a home. I couldn’t imagine how we could unpack. How could we put anything away if we couldn’t reach the cabinets?

But somehow, by the next morning, we began to make a little progress, moving boxes from one area, so we could begin to unpack.

The packing had been challenging—making decisions about what to take or leave behind, fitting everything in appropriately sized boxes, making sure that delicate items were securely padded. We had some help—Claudia, from U-Simplified, spent a few hours with us, especially packing up our kitchen. She was a treasure!

Unpacking is a different kind of challenge. This is a new space, with different configurations. Placing all our things, from teaspoons to cans to art supplies to furniture, is like working on a house-size, three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle. Every placement is a decision.

We’re lucky–we have a large apartment with quite a lot of storage space. But the cabinets are quite high. The place is designed for tall Norwegians, not short elderly Jewish folk. Even so, slowly, slowly, we began to populate our kitchen and then other rooms with our familiar “stuff.” We’ve even managed to find room for all the furniture we’ve taken here. We have more work…more boxes to go… but the unpacking now seems finite—which is a major accomplishment. This is beginning to feel like our home.

We’re also beginning to truly appreciate Abiitan—especially the people, both staff and residents. We attended a potluck one evening this week and met very friendly and interesting people. There are wonderful programs—lectures and theater…  And we’re just beginning to explore our downtown neighborhood. This is truly a new adventure for us.