The author has moved 25 times in 55 years for various reasons such as work, family, and seeking better opportunities. Moving so frequently has required packing up and unpacking household items on many occasions. One particularly funny move involved borrowing a truck and friends' help to transport belongings between houses in Hamilton, New Zealand. Through all the relocations over decades, the only items the author still has from early life are some beads purchased during a college trip and some university books.

1. Once I told you how I traveled all around and still do whether it is for business or leisure, I love
traveling and I love experiencing new things in life. However most of my travels happened for
reasons beyond my control, the family and I had to go to places and settle for a while or longer
than a while to either gain something or obtain other things, this is not the subject of the blog
this morning.
If I tell you that I am a Bedouin, would you believe it? Well I am, as I have been in so many
houses since I was less than one year old till now. In Bahrain we lived in three houses (till the
age of 16), then I moved to study abroad, where I lived in 2 houses during the four years of
study. After graduation, I returned back to Bahrain to be a guest in my parents' house; literally I
was a guest, as I travelled to few places, like India, England, Switzerland and Italy, for few
months at a time, and over there I lived in flats or hotels; then I moved to Dubai to get married,
we stayed in the chalet of our friends for few months, then to a flat, then to my parents house
as they moved to Dubai, then to another flat, then we moved to England again, where we lived
in a house, then back to Dubai and lived in my parents newly built home, then to a flat, then to
our newly built home, which was the only one we stayed in four years in a row, then again to
my parents house, then to New Zealand; first we lived in Auckland, rented a nice house for few
years, then moved to Hamilton; prior to finding a house, I stayed with my son in a little flat,
while the girls and my husband continued to stay in Auckland till they finished their third term
in school; meanwhile my son and I looked for a house, once we found it, we stayed in it for a
bet longer than two years. Then we sold it and bought a little house for my son to stay in as we
decided to move back to Dubai. When we reached Dubai, we stayed at my parent’s vacant
house, for few years, then we were homeless for three months, then we moved to our house in
the springs. I hated that house, to the extent that I would be either in the office or at the club
till 10 at night and I would only sleep in it. I looked for another place and found the dream
place in Green community; This is our last house for now, and believe me, I intend to stay in it,
until I die, so help me god.
Have you been counting? Well, in 55 years, we moved 25 times. All these times I have been
packing and unpacking, I cannot remember how many sofa sets, and bedroom sets we changed,
and I cannot remember if we kept the curtains or not, or bought new sets of dinner ware or
cutlery, I do remember that the newspapers and boxes will be collected, and the important
stuff will be wrapped into boxes, and unwrapped and put into their place when we reach our
destination.

2. The funniest packing and unpacking happened when we moved to my son's wee house in
Hamilton, we didn’t have much money then, so I didn’t want to bring a door-to-door company
as we normally do, so I hired a truck, and drove it myself between the two houses, we would
carry the things and stuff them in the truck, while my friend stuffs them in the new house, and
the other friend stuffs things in boxes for us to carry to the truck in the old house. Of course
the after math is so great, as we have to clean the house, and keep it ready for its new comers.
Also the cat, we lost her, so we had to provide slips with our phone numbers to the neighbors
and the new owners to call us in case she returns; the cat belonged to my little one, and she
called her Insane, the whole thing was so insane really as we had to run from a place to another
to see if she had returned. Anyway, one rainy day ( Hamilton was famous for those heavy
showers) we got a call that she was back to the house, we all run over there to collect her,
grinning all the way to the supermarket, buying her a new toy plus food. When we finally
decided to move back to Dubai, we had to find a cattery that will house Insane until they found
her new parents. I miss that cat, she used to stand next to me when I prayed, I used to think
that she was praying with me.
Those were the good days.
Something very funny happened the other day. I was collecting old books to sell for the charity
book sale at the college, so while I was rummaging through my stuff, I found four sets of beads.
I was trying to remember where they were from and when did I buy them? well, don’t laugh
please, I got them when I was 18, from the Kurdistan side of Iraq; we had gone there for a tour
during our spring break, and the girls and I decided that we would buy something to remind us
of that place, the beads where my souvenir for myself. I think that and few of my university
books were the only things that had remained with me during the years that we wondered
around the world, trying to find a better place to live, or a better life style.
Human beings are funny creatures, we are never satisfied with what we have now, or what we
had yesterday, we are always racing to be the best, live in the best, and own the best, once we
buy something, then it stays in the past, and we start to hunt for a better thing. We buy the car
today, tomorrow we will be looking at the neighbors’ cars and comparing, if we had got a better
deal or they did. When will we grew out of these things? I will never know.

3. So, if you were planning a move, call me, can pack your things in seconds. It is all in the way you
organize them; the vases in one place, the paintings in another, the cloths stay in the cupboard,
and the last thing to be wrapped is the furniture. Do this, and you will never lose anything. I
think my sister in law will laugh at this blog, as she has been through a similar thing all her life
too.