The Lamentations of Space

The movers have come and gone and taken my Irish Life's collected works to the shipyard. The manager called me late on Friday afternoon to tell me she had a ship leaving Monday morning, if I could get all packed by Saturday evening, I could be on it. It would shave 4 weeks off my transit time.

Hell yes I can get packed in a day. 

In fact, after I loaded the 3 suitcases I will take on the plane, it took me 6 hours. 6 hours, 1 roll of packing tape, and 9 medium sized boxes. It was a stressful day but I got it done. After Sam the mover loaded the last of it, shook my hand, and wished me luck (very Irish thing to do) I looked around the debris field and felt empty. Gloriously empty.

Yesterday I cleaned it all up, finished the give away boxes, and put my room back into a semblance of normality. It is quite bare and I have to say, I like it. I've been living in this room for 3 years and everything I own in Europe, save the paltry kitchen equipment I have, has been stored in this very small room. It is probably 120 sq ft with just enough room for a queen sized bed, a small wardrobe, my dresser and a shoe rack. But I managed to cram all my clothes, my books and movies, my toiletries, my shoes and coats, my iron and board, a laundry basket, a waste basket, and a night stand into the room. I have never felt comfortable with it, because it was all too much STUFF stuffed into the room and now that it has all gone, I have the luxury of looking around and feeling space in my room. I had forgotten how much I enjoy sparseness. 

Which is not to say I'm a minimalist. I like my personal effects but I find it very soothing to see the surfaces. I like to see a bit of space around my things. But for three years, I've not had that luxury. My room is rather typical of second bedrooms in Dublin. It is neither small nor large but for an adult, it is difficult not to spill out of it. Throw last night's clothes on the floor and it is wrecked. A newspaper left behind will make it appear to be the fire trap is really is. But a room needs things in it to comfort the tenant, no? Photos of my family and friends, books and movies to entertain myself on long dark nights, the candle sticks my brother gave me, the Vespa calendar, the bowl my father made for me... these are the things I surround myself with to give me home when I have no Home. 

But now my home is on a ship across the Atlantic. And I will make a new home for myself, however long this post will be, in Florida. I will learn to be a beach person now, leaving my pub self behind here in Dublin. I will eat Cuban food and learn to Salsa. I will wear shorts and flip flops. And I will surround myself with things that remind me of the years I lived in Ireland. The photos of friends, the souvenirs from trips, the DVDs that won't play, the stuff from my room in Irishtown.