Moving

This post begins with a timely reminder of my forwarding addresses:

From May 27 to July 17:

St. Fidelis Friary
900 Cathedral Avenue
Victoria, KS  67671

From July 22:

San Lorenzo Friary
PO Box 247
(1802 Sky Drive if sending mail via FedEx or UPS)
Santa Ynez, CA 93460

Remember: my e-mail, anthonyzuba@gmail.com, will remain the same, but I will have only 90 minutes of Internet time every week. Snail mail is a good way to go. For this novice-to-be, being far from home and with limited electronic communication, receiving little handwritten notes on nice stationery will mean a lot in the months ahead.

I promise to write to anyone who writes to me, even if it takes a while to respond. And I pledge to keep up with the blog in a modified format so you can keep up with my religious journey.

***

Life is still moving along at St. Michael Friary. Spent most of the day looking at windows. The postulants were doing house chores when they were not packing their worldly possessions and sealing shipping boxes. My chore was to clean the windows of the friary, both inside and outside panels. So I grabbed a week's worth of The New York Times from our living room, a bottle of Windex, a sponge, a bucket, and Murphy's Oil Soap, and got moving.

Speaking of moving, most of my property now rests inside two suitcases and fifteen boxes. Twelve of these boxes are destined for a storage room my parents have rented for their home furnishings while they do renovations to their kitchen and dining room. (I am thankful they will let me share their space.) Of these twelve, five are packed with my theology library; one is filled with CDs; three contain personal papers; two hold winter clothing and bedsheets; and one has a couple of picture frames. The three other boxes are going west: two to California, one to Kansas. Bibles, breviaries, and books about Francis of Assisi are bound for Santa Ynez. Construction boots and miscellaneous hygiene items are going to Victoria.

I am bequeathing a few other items to my parents: my boombox, my seven-year-old laptop, a few suit jackets, and my winter coat.

I am thankful that everything I have fits in one room, or in one vehicle. It gives me gladness knowing that at this point in my life, I am decreasing my possessions. I hope that one day soon, I will be unburdened of the majority of the things I have just inventoried for you. Anybody can move, but many move slowly and with great stress because of the things that anchor them. I want to move when the Spirit says, "Move" -- and move freely, promptly, without restraint.

What a relief it will be when, come Wednesday afternoon, I will be living out of two suitcases and two cloth handbags. Free to move.