The chaos is finally over, and I can settle down and breathe a sigh of relief: after a crazy move-in and two long weeks too full of other engagements to unpack, the new apartment is finally in order.
It's been stressing me out a lot. Work is hard enough, but to come home looking for sanctuary and finding only boxes sitting in little piles has been draining. Yesterday, finally, the bf was going to be gone all day and it was pouring buckets, so I used my distraction-free day to get OCD on my habitat. There are no longer boxes in corners. My stuff has been unpacked, and the bf's has been shoved under his desk (that's what he gets). All laundry was washed, all clothes put away, and rather than lament my descent into distinctly un-feminist territory (I folded his underwear), I just feel a lot better. I finally feel like I can relax in my own home.
He didn't get all of this for free, however. I left a post-it on his side of the mirror with instructions about taking me out to dinner. I feel like that's fair.
The holidays are upon us - we didn't get more cleaning done before yesterday because we were double-booked for holiday parties both nights this weekend - and we kept making noises about getting a tree, but now I don't think we will. If we do, it will be small and go on top of a table or something. It just wasn't in the cards. I have resorted to my usual Xmas tactic, which worked really well and made the day nice for me when I was abroad: wrap everything. Got gifts for people that you haven't mailed yet? Put them under the tree. Bought toothpaste for yourself? Put it in a box, and put a bow on that box. We ordered a bunch of stuff for the house on Amazon, and as those packages arrive, they are getting decorated and will be opened on Xmas even though we both know what they are.
We also won some movie tickets at my company's holiday party, and a whole hotel package at his company's holiday party, so those are going right in the stockings. That way I don't feel bad about not being able to afford a super fantastic present for him. It may be a waste of paper and time, but it'll make our first holiday in the new apartment seem a little more special.
