Settle is one of those words that has a bad reputation. As in: settling for less.

But what I have in mind here is something more like: settle into.

Or better yet: settle down.

There are boxes everywhere, but slowly things are getting unpacked. And yes, as I had expected, even though we have downsized quite a bit, we are still surrounded by what seems like way too much stuff. So I’m sure there will be more casting off to do.

It would be easy to let the clutter of boxes get to me. And off and on today, I could feel my stress level start to inch upward.

But tonight, at dinner, something else happened. I was tired, and I was looking as tired as I felt. My youngest came up to me and gave me a hug. And at that moment, I could feel my center of gravity shift. If only slightly. If only for a moment. The boxes didn’t matter. We were here. We had arrived at our new home.

And I know that settling takes a little time. There’s a certain gentleness to setting. Nothing that is forced into place ever settles well.