Moving

Perfectly beautiful weekend ruined by packing. Dave gives notice to his landlord. Landlord ecstatic (usual mood of landlord is whatever mood it is that makes somebody neglect to paint and clean building in the hope that rent stabilized tenants move out) and says that as far as he is concerned Dave can move out next weekend. Both of us very busy this week so all packing must be done by Sunday night. Have strong personal feelings that moves best accompanied by severe purge of accumulated junk. Discover vast collection of boxes of what am compelled to call trash, including notebooks from college and graduate school, stack of old The Onion issues, box full of receipts from 1999, multiple shoeboxes of cassette tapes. Ask, Why don't we just Throw it All Away? Dave extremely upset about this. Try to difuse situation by making flippant remark. Say that All we Really Need is a bowl, spoon and mat each. Books we can get from the Library. Dave takes exception. Says that I would feel differently if this was my stuff. (In cold light of next day, see his point.) Become agitated. Say, If you haven't opened it for five years then you probably won't ever again. Dave Says, just as firmly, I might Need it. Say, Need It for what? We have our first real Fight, which involves yelling and brandishing of packing tape. (Thankfully, Jenny in Brooklyn.) Accuse Dave of holding on to past, especially memory of old boyfriend (Charles) who was somehow both a Monster and a Bore. I, in turn am charged with being Cold. We expand on positions. Much much later feel that need to go out of the living room so that don't Cry. Go to bathroom. Wash hands and face. Worry that move an extremely bad idea. When emerge, Dave has prepared glass of ice water for me. Says he is Sorry. Do the same. Both say that we didn't mean a word what we said. (Why then, did we say it?) At end of day, several boxes thrown away, but know for certain fact that vast majority have been placed in the To Move pile. Forsee much energy still to be expended trying to Reason with Dave.