The stuff of life

I was right.  With school in session, blogs are likely to happen only on weekends, if then.  Plus, I discovered a blog on principalspage.com that is spot on, dealing with topics I think about and am likely to blog about, and the guy is funnier than me.  And it goes back several years.  Not enough years, though:  where was this guy when I was a new principal?  I had to figure out stuff for myself.  His name is Michael Smith and he is a small town superintendent in Illinois.  His answer to the question, "Why blog?" was, it's 2009.  I concur.  Blog he will and blog I will.  I will, even if I am not prolific.  Even if I am not profound.  And even if I am not funny.

It's public knowledge on two continents that I am leaving a small, circa 600 student K-12 public school district in a small town on the south coast of Oregon, where I serve as the secondary school principal, for a similar position at a similar-sized K-12 private international school in a very large town on the north coast of Morocco, Africa.  All right, it is public knowledge in a very small part of each of those two continents.  It is big news in my family, if not elsewhere.

This week has been about transition.  About having one foot firmly in Reedsport, not dropping the ball, not letting loose of the reins, earning my keep...but at the same time preparing for my departure and preparing for a successful transition.  About having another foot testing the waters in Casablanca, getting the lay of the land, assessing the situation, forging connections...preparing for my arrival and preparing for a successful transition.

And about physical transition, for our stuff, if not for our selves.

FedEx is now entrusted with 25 boxes, each packed solid with the material objects that will be reunited with us in August in a yet unknown venue.  It is an interesting inventory of clothing, books, toys, games, and miscellanea that we classified as:  1) not furniture, or cutlery, or dining ware, or appliances--for all that will be provided in our furnished housing, 2) not so important to our daily lives that we need it between now and August, 3) not so absolutely important or precious that we can't risk losing or damaging it, 4) not so unimportant that we are going to get rid of it with this move, and, the kicker, 5) not anything that failed to fit in a maximum 18x18x24 inch box with a weight limit of around 50 lbs.

If anyone takes a close look at the inventory, they will wonder about us.  Book titles, equally divided between esoteric educational philosophy, practical leadership theory, theater history and pragmatics, young adult fiction and Dr. Seuss.  A lot of family games.  Random clothing, and an inordinate number of stuffed animals, many of whom have been put to work on the journey padding and holding other items firmly in place--like foam peanuts with personality.

For the rest of it, if it doesn't fit in our two suitcases each, in August...it is staying behind.  I guess we'll have to buy replacements.  That will include the gamut of electric and electronic items that will need to run on 220V instead of 110V.

As for what is left here, the things we love, including a lot of our furniture, and souvenirs from our last overseas adventure, will go into storage.  And, there is going to be one heck of a garage sale.

Folks are asking:  "Is it stressful?"  I guess it would be more so, if we hadn't done this before.  It does require thought, planning, effort, and a "one bite of the elephant at a time" kind of attitude.  But we know it will all work out fine.

In the end, the "stuff" part of a big move helps you remember what is important.  

It isn't stuff.