Multicultural Muses

The Chaotic Muse

By Molly J. Anderson-Childers

Welcome to Bluebell House, where chaos reigns supreme. What better time to begin this article than three a.m. on a Tuesday night, when all sensible people are sound asleep? It is the perfect occasion to consider chaos, my muse of the moment.

My husband and I recently moved to a new house. In the past month, we have packed and unpacked hundreds of boxes. I started a new job; he lost his old one and is currently looking for work. And, somewhere in there, I also managed to finish the first draft of a novel I’ve been working on, injure my back and recover from that, and perform my girlish duties as a bridesmaid in my best friend’s wedding… all in a mere four weeks.

“Impossible!” you say, and refuse to believe. But all of it is true. Yes, it nearly drove me insane. But I am halfway there already, so I decided to just enjoy the ride.

It is only today that I can look clearly at this period of tumult and change, chaos and uncertainty, and say definitively that we have survived it, and lived to tell the tale. Lest I soon forget these lessons, I wanted to write them down, so that you may learn from my dark time.

Moving from one home to another is a difficult, stressful endeavor. When you work at home, and must also relocate your office or studio, things get even more complicated. Here are a few things I learned the hard way, which might make your own move easier.

I find it helpful to keep one box or book-bag separate from the others, reserving it only for current projects. It’s the last one I pack, and the first thing I unpack when I’m ready to work.

A few days before the move, if possible, call to confirm that your utilities are working, or go to the house and test out the phone line, electricity, and water pressure. If there are any special services you need in your office or studio, make sure they are up and running on schedule.

Upon moving into our new home, our landlords reassured us that they had installed functional DSL and phone lines. “Everything’s ready to go,” they said. However, when we arrived, we found that this was not the case at all. Three weeks later, we’re still struggling to get the situation straightened out and have repairs done — and I’m still typing on a rickety computer at school, instead of in my comfy little office at home. This has cost me a lot of time and energy, and a world of frustration.

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© 2008 Molly J. Anderson-Childers