Moving: Every Problem Has A Solution

There are few things in our life happenings more irritating and overwhelming than moving house. For adherences to order like me, the messiness of moving is a recipe for a mental breakdown.  I’ve moved 8 times during my life in Israel, which translates into an average of one move every 3.3 years.  (Divorce didn’t help.)  The seemingly endless tasks and crazy expense are exhausting.  The checklist is long – looking for a new place, dealing with brokers, arranging for movers and packers, getting quotes and avoiding surprise fees, updating addresses, updating utility services (gas, water, cable, internet), planning logistics (made extra challenging with small children), and the list goes on.

The unique experience of apartment renting in Israel adds to the moving burden.  Though states differ (I’ve lived in 3), a renter in the U.S. can usually expect to receive a fully liveable apartment, replete with appliances, carpeting, closets, heat and air conditioning and freshly painted walls. Just move in and put your bags down.  No fuss, no muss.  Not so in Israel. The renting norm is the absence of norm. You can’t count on anything more than an empty shell.  Every move requires a major investment of time and money – closets, furniture, appliances and more.  Our last move involved a lot of unloading because we downgraded to a smaller apartment. Existing furniture and appliances were not a good match. In our stress to unload things before the move date, we were forced to just give away stuff for free. Which takes me to the silver lining of this essay and a helpful lesson.

As our moving date was quickly approaching like a storm cloud, we found a twenty-something fellow to take our pair of very large, bulky, heavy couches that he wanted for his apartment in south Tel Aviv.  He appeared with a buddy to help him. The two of them were a picture.  Dressed like they just returned from a week long trek in the jungle or from an episode of “Survivor” (and smelling much the same), they walked into our apartment with a calm, no-nonsense, can-do attitude that mesmerized me, the same “there is nothing we can’t do” attitude that uniquely exemplifies the mold of many Israelis that grow-up in scouts, serve in the army and travel to all corners of the globe (habited and uninhabited) and, if I may kvell, remind me of my four kids and why I relish the fact they grew-up here.  Crazy, fearless adventure is in the Israeli DNA.  No challenge is ever too difficult.  Dressed in rags and clumsy Timberland boots, they walked in ready to do business.  I immediately fell in love with these two guys, that first fleeting feeling you get about someone because of who they are to the world.  (I doubt the feeling was mutual.)

As one who has a keen sense of geometry, I quickly concluded the couches would not fit out the front door.  My mindset became one of immediate gloom and doom, already overwhelmed by the growing tsunami wave of moving and fed-up with never-ending tasks and bottlenecks.  Time was running out. I was sure they would toss in the towel.  Not these guys.  They scanned their surroundings, took stock of the terrace and immediately identified a path forward.  Being climbers, trekkers, or whatever they like to do in the jungle, they brought up their rappelling equipment from the car (who doesn’t keep that handy?), consisting of straps, cables and clasps, and proceeded to lower the two couches (each over 50 kilos) from the terrace, three floors down, like it was nothing. I was struck by the magical combination of their agility, tenacity and calm, like there was nothing they couldn’t or wouldn’t do. Nothing phased these guys.  Being two moshavniks, they proceeded to give us helpful tips about our plants on the way out.  Several hours later, he sent us a photo of the furniture in his apartment. He chopped the long, two-meter couch in half and turned it into a corner “L” couch. No kidding.

I did not walk away from this experience with even an ounce of their energy and vision.  But there was a lesson to be learned, and I’ve been telling my kids that same message since the day they were born.  Every problem has a solution.  It might not always be the ideal solution (compromise is usually unavoidable), but few challenges in life are beyond our ability to overcome them.

And moving house, with all its headaches and hurdles, is just another one of those trials that are manageable with the right attitude, fortitude and perspective (and sense of humor). In the end, it all works out.  It wouldn’t hurt to find a pair of cool twenty something Israeli dudes ready to conquer the world.