Moving Up or Down?

I just moved from a fully furnished apartment to an apartment that has 1 mattress and one new area rug and 3 computers and I did this willingly. This is my first foray into the world of moving. I guess it may be odd that I made it almost a quarter of a century w/o ever actually moving. I realize I live in Germany and I lived at college and I lived in New Hampshire and I even lived in London but never did I need to move all of my stuff from out of a place to which I would never return. I always had a bedroom at my parents house where I could leave the majority of my stuff taking only what I needed. If we’re being completely honest, a lot of my “stuff” still remains in this bedroom. My dad claims he’s going to make my old bedroom an exercise room but it’s been 3 months since I heard that and I haven’t heard anything more so I feel pretty confident my stuff is safely stored. This is important too because for some reason people took to buying me gifts like glasses and photo frames, things that would almost certainly break if transported across the Atlantic so I needed a place to leave them in addition to random useless stuff I have but will not need in the upcoming years. Such as Prom dresses, does anyone need a few Prom dresses? It would really be the first step to removing my belongings from my dad’s “exercise” room. ;) Anyway, I’ve recently helped friends move and it was tiring but fun and finished in one day. They moved about 400 feet. We’re moving to what I could easily equate to a Boston/NYC move but between two cities, each about he size of Providence. It’s about a 4 hour drive in between the old and new apartments which means we need a moving truck. Thanks to Patrick’s relocation package that is not a problem but we’re waiting for our appointment so for the next two week’s we’ll both be living in the new, unfurnished apartment. This is ultimately better than the alternative which we’ve been practicing sine February where by Patrick lives in Mannheim while I live in Braunschweig and he visits Braunschweig one weekend every two weeks. That was not the most fun. I guess it made me realize my independence and I already miss my softball practices and English lessons but it’s just time to move on. I’ll go back for one last English lesson and I’ve found a new softball team here which will hopefully work out. Last night I slept in a king size bed with 4 pillows in a hotel with as many stars and now, after 5 hours of travel for a trip that should have taken 2, I return to our small mattress on the rug on the floor in the living room like a squatter. It’s kind of fun and I’m pretty sure I’ll never do this again in life so I’m making the most of it, which is of course why the mattress is in the living room instead of the bedroom. That and the living roomo faces the back yard as opposed to the street and we don’t have curtains yet. However, in 6 months, I’m sure I’ll love this apartment as much as I came to love the first one, maybe even sooner if the furniture goes well.