Unfortunately, with any long-distance move the “in-betweensies” are inevitable.

I started to feel the “in-betweensies” last weekend as I started packing for my cross country move from So Cal to Wisconsin. Like Patrick Swayze in “Ghost” or Barry Allen in Flashpoint, I felt stuck between worlds. I’m trying to squeeze in as much time with my friends and family before I leave,…but I’m also checking Waukesha County’s Facebook page for the events I want to attend when I get there.

Grocery shopping has been the worst. As a food scientist, I always dawdle at the food museum known as the grocery store. Now grocery trips are even more complicated because I’m doing mental math about what food will make the trip.

I’ve had a bad experience moving pancake syrup…
Sorry Aunt Jemima, but you’re getting left behind.

There is no easy way to mitigate the “in-betweensies”, but there are three strategies I’m using now which seem to help me feel less stuck.

 

1. Skip the packing problem areas

The “in-betweensies” came on strong as I was attempting to pack the bathroom. I have a shelf of sea-shells that serves no purpose other than it makes me happy. From a practical standpoint, I don’t need the seashells for the next few weeks. And yet there was exactly zero percent of me that was about to put those seashells in a box.

So I stood there and stared at the shelf for too long, wrestling with my silliness and stubbornness against packing up that shelf.

Finally, I moved on to other areas of my apartment I could pack, and the in-betweensies subsided with the increasing satisfaction of my Tetris packing skills.

 

2. Make your “I’ll Miss This”/Wannabe Amazing Race List

The “in-betweensies” are like being on the monkey bars: you have to let go with one hand before you can move forward. In order to feel ready to let go of living in So Cal, I did what any project manager would do – I made a list.

On this list I put all the things I would miss the most if I wasn’t living in So Cal anymore. Gradually that list morphed into a wannabe Amazing Race list as I found myself adding places I’d been meaning to visit and never did.

After I had my list, I started scheduling the days I’d check those items off the list. It’s not enough to write your To-Dos down on a list if you don’t also account for when you’re actually going to do them! The excitement of going to these places and the satisfaction of checking these To Dos off the list helped me focus on the here-and-now.

3. Book a Trip Back to Your Starting Point

It’s easier to move to Wisconsin knowing I’ve already booked a flight to come back and visit.

It’s easy to set alerts via Skyscanner or AirfareWatchDog or Google Flights so you can grab a flight as soon as it drops into a price range you want. I was able to book a late-September flight from Wisconsin to So Cal for less than $300 Roundtrip! Of course, it’s not Southwest Airlines (MY FAVORITE) so I don’t get to bring any luggage or check-in until I’m at the airport and I’ve proven I don’t have any luggage. But none of that matters because I am coming back to see my So Cal friends and family for a weekend right after the big move.

 

 

Have you ever felt the “in-betweensies” as a result of a move? What did you do to get past it? How do you ensure you keep in touch with friends and family over long-distance?