Signs you or a loved one may have a moving problem

WARNING...If you recognize more than 5 of these signs in you or your loved one please seek professional help. If you recognize 10 or fewer there may still be hope, but don't expect them to ever be totally normal. *For extreme cases, read additional warning at end of quiz.*

I found this on a blog today (of someone who has moved more than us!) and thought that it was great and decided to re-post it here with my narratives.

You may have a "moving problem" if...

1. You have 8 or more zip codes committed to memory because you have had them as part of your personal address. (13165, 37404, 37412, 14744, 14620, 14619, 13210 - That is only 7, I am close.)

2. You have purchased enough Rubbermaid totes to pack the entire contents of your home in them. (We have had our share of Rubbermaid totes but many of them have broken and they don't store flat so we mostly use Baxter boxes - the best moving boxes on Earth! I love Baxter boxes - sigh.... Is it wrong to love boxes?)

3. You have frequently awakened not knowing for sure which direction to head to get to the bathroom. (This is especially hard for the kids when they are first potty trained/ing. I even blogged about this here. The funniest time was when Abigail was half-way up the stairs before she remembered that the place we had recently moved to had the bathroom downstairs. I heard "Silly Abigail" and down the stairs she came.)

4. Your 10 year old, after listening to a group of people discuss "where they are from," looks up at you and says, "Mom, where are we from?". (No 10 years olds yet but for a long time Caleb was convinced that he was born in Bangladesh.)

5. You celebrated when you managed to live in one home for 2 whole years. (Actually, our record is 23 months so we haven't been able to celebrate this great landmark yet. It is our dream to someday do that. We will probably celebrate it by moving.)

6. Your 2 year old pauses, during the middle of a "MY HOUSE!, NO MY HOUSE!" argument, with another 2 year old, to look up at you and ask, "My house, Mommy?". (Again, this is sometimes confusing for the kids. I have had this conversation before "Can we go home Mommy?" "Which home, honey?" (child answers) "Oh, we aren't going to that home today.")

7. Your friends have started recommending that you just buy a nice pull behind camper. (I was very tempted to do this this summer! When we went to Louisiana to visit Glenn's parents a few years ago for Christmas and saw their new to them fifth wheel that had been donated to the ministry for them to live in, I will admit it, I was jealous.)

8. You have had "worker" company visit you in 3 different homes in 1 year. (Not sure what they mean by "worker" but I have had phone calls asking if we still need something repaired and have to say, "I'm sorry, we don't live there anymore.")

9. You lay your 2 year old down for a nap, and they say, " Wan a new house!" (I didn't see this as a sign of a problem, other than a delay tactic for nap time...you know we could just move instead.) *stolen from previous post because I thought it was so funny!

10. Your 4 children were born in 3 different states. (Nope, 2 different states - TN & NY. Two of my girls were actually born at the same hospital! Maybe I don't have a problem!)

11. You brought all 4 of your children home from the hospital to a different house. (Hmmm. #1 1707c but we moved to 3615 about a week later. #2 1310. #3 Alderman's. #4 Christensens' - Check.)

12. Your parents don't even bother writing down your address anymore...they just call for the latest info. (Every time Glenn's Grandma wants to send us something she has to call for our address.)

13. You seek comfort from the scripture talking about Abraham dwelling in tents.(This reminds me of our Sunday School to the Extreme lesson. Tents were one of our homes for a summer.)

14. You say "guess what?", to people you know and they respond, "you're going to be our neighbors". (Nope, it is usually, "Do you know where you are going to live yet?")

15. Your friends have put stipulations on when they'll plan a visit to your home, like you need to live there at least 2 weeks. (Actually we had several visitors at our sublet this summer and we were only there 2 months. Maybe our friends just like us better than these peoples' friends.)

16. Your dog panics when your family is all in the vehicle and she's not. (We don't have a dog but I think that the reason that the kids get upset when we go on dates is because they think that we'll move without them.)

17. People pass heaped up, tied down, dilapidated vehicles traveling down the road, and they call and say they thought of you today. (Actually, I have never received any calls about this. I can say that I am thankful around the 31st/1st of the month when I see cars driving around with mattresses on the roofs when we aren't moving that month.)

18. "Anti-homeschooling individuals" begin to support your cause. (Moving is one reason we have decided to homeschool. Caleb would have been in 4 different school districts in his 5 years of schooling so we think that it is best.)

19. You have never done Fall or Spring Cleaning, you just move instead.(Who Spring or Fall cleans? I just make sure I sweep under the stove and fridge to make sure I get all the kids toys and sweep the bottom of the closets and under where the beds used to be when we move out.)

20. Your personal stuff no longer produces warm fuzzy feelings inside...because you're sick of packing it up!(This is so true. I am from a long line of packrats but this packrat really doesn't like hoarding anymore because that is more boxes I have to pack and carry on various amounts of stairs and put in a vehicle and take out of a vehicle and carry on various amounts of stairs and then figure out where to put in the new place. I still struggle with my packrat-ness but I am sure that I still have a few more moves to cure me of it in my life. I have heard that 4 moves is about equivalent to a fire. Thankfully we have never had a fire.)

*If you or a loved one has moved more than 20 times in the past 15 years, there is no help for them. Definitely do not try to intervene. There have not been enough studies done on this sort of thing to know what this actually does to their gray matter. Please, for your mental safety and theirs, just smile and act pleasant.

We have had 15 different addresses in the last 10 years. (We aren't really sure how to count August to mid-October of the past year.) Wow, doing this has made me thankful that I am not packing or unpacking right now and that we have a lease at least until May. One day I figured out that if we live to be married 60 years we will probably, at the current rate, move about 75 more times. Though I am not great at moving at least I am getting better at it and it looks like I'll have lots of opportunities to practice in the future. No. I do not have a problem :)