I hate moving.

The idea of having to pack up everything I own into boxes only to move them less than two miles is infuriating. Nevertheless, that is what I spent my weekend doing. Yes, even on Saturday in the pouring rain. And let me tell you, I am paying the price for it now. My knees, back and arms ache whenever I try to move them. I also loathe cardboard. It is not sturdy enough to hold everything I need it to and the rain only weakens it, a frustrating by-product of the weather.

Then there is the fact that, given the luxury of being able to move over several days, it is hard to decide what to move and what to leave behind until the last possible minute. What is the temperature going to be? Will I need a sweater or will T-shirt weather once again take over? I can’t pack my toothbrush, but can I pack my toothbrush holder? I could set the toothbrush on the counter, but what if it inadvertently rolls off into the toilet as my luck would inevitably have it do. Can you begin to see my dilemma?

And then, once you are finally moved into your new residence, you have to unpack everything you just packed not two days ago! Placing furniture and dishes is one thing, there are only so many places they can go. It is the smaller things that are complicated. Does that picture look better on the desk or the dresser? Should I hang a picture on that wall or will it look too cluttered? Where should I put my hammer?

A thousand and one questions that are not really all that important until you are looking for said hammer to hang said picture. At which point a stream of muttered curses will inevitably take over as you remember you let a friend/family member/whoever help you unpack and you can now find absolutely nothing.

For all of my complaining, however, there are some good things to be said for moving, few and far between though they are. For one, it is a good chance to do some cleaning out of clothes and other stuff. Things tend to accumulate when you stay in one place too long and moving is the best way I know of to remedy that situation.

The second good thing to come out of moving is that it actually provides an opportunity to sit down and look at things that you forget you have. Pictures are the best example of this I can find. Over the past week I have looked through my college yearbook and countless other photo albums depicting everything from a spring break trip to Charleston to countless family trips over the summers.

It was a great opportunity to remember some of the good times I have had in my life, though short it may seem to some of you. Looking at those pictures every so often helps keep my memory fresh about the events, things I do not soon want to forget.

Morgan Wall is a staff reporter for The Mount Airy News. She can be reached at mwall@mtairynews.com or 719-1929.