I moved to my new neighborhood last weekend. There were/are certainly some mixed emotions involved. Moving meant leaving the building where Nicole and I shared an apartment. And saying goodbye to my treasured doormen whom I had grown to rely on. But, despite the heavy heart, I knew it was time. Time to lean into my dream of living in the West Village. To embrace a new experience. And I'm sure Nicole would be in full support.

Along the way, I learned a few lessons, which I thought worthy of sharing in a post. This is more about the emotion than the physical stuff. And whilst its about moving house, the lessons here pertain to going through a big change - & could be applied elsewhere too.

So here they are, all seven of them:

1. Make sure you are well rested
2. Assume it will take twice as long as you think
3. Have some moral support handy
4. Avoid perfectionism
5. Remember that change often goes hand in hand with 'delayed gratification' 
6. Protect your body, eat healthily, hydrate, take breaks
7. Plan some down time afterwards to recover

It's wonderful what some perspective can do isn't it? Now that I've got the lessons out of the way, let me share what really went down.

1. I traveled from NY>LA>Chicago>Puerto Rico>NY>Chicago>NY in the 7 days preceding the move
2. I thought moving would take me one day and it took three (and I had to miss my weekend of yoga teacher training)
3. Thankfully I had a friend staying, I think there would have been tears if I'd gone through the move on my own
4. Said friend was unimpressed with my reluctance to rest during the process of getting everything 'just right'
5. One week later it's all still a blur
6. I quickly gave up on taking care of myself, ate and drank whatever came my way & suffered a very bad back strain whilst bullishly trying to do everything at break neck pace
7. This week (post move) has been hellish, with clients in town for annual vendor presentations all day every day including late nights (client entertainment style)

So there you have it, exhaustion is the word that comes to mind!  On the bright side once it was all done I did have a long massage. It was so needed. So number 8 book a massage...

Life is full of challenges and this move was high on the c list for me. Next time I consider moving I promise to take my own advice per the above. Expectations. Much. Lower.

By the way, I keep forgetting to remember my 2016 mantra - must be more kind to self. Seems right now if I'm not burning the candle at both ends I'm busy chastising myself for doing so. In writing about this, I'm fully owning it. Time to come back to me.  Yoga teacher training this weekend is just the ticket.

The beautiful photo shared here is the view from my new apartment. I couldn't be happier to be 'in" and I know after some rest and relaxation I will feel that even more deeply. Delayed gratification style, it is worth it. Totally worth it.

Thanks for reading along even when I'm offering more about my struggles than offering inspiration. I appreciate you all. Have you got any horror moving stories?  Lessons learned? Spill!