Making a home (out of very few things)

Last Friday we moved all our things from our temporary apartment to our new apartment in two taxis, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. I tried to make it comfortable in our new home with what we have. Then, at 5pm, Mark arrived with Zoe after picking her up from daycare. I was surprisingly nervous of how Zoe would react, what she would do when she saw the new place and if she would feel at home, which is why I started by making a comfy play corner for her. Not before her toys and stuffed animals were out, did I open the boxes with glasses, silverware and the pot (yep, we have a pot). She was happy to see me and we had an easy dinner but after that I had to unpack her little travel bed. I took her into her new room and proceeded to open it up, explaining that this room was where she would sleep and play. Her little face turned to utter disappointment, and then she started crying. It was like the scene from Planet of the Apes where the main character realizes, after seeing the broken Statue of Liberty, that this is earth. Zoe realized we were staying here. We weren't going home. She cried her brave tears and ran out of the room, over to the front door pointing up: "da, da." I felt my heart sink as I explained that we were living here now. This was home. She calmed down and I let her sleep in our bed the whole night.

Since then she has cheered up, exploring different parts of the apartment but she is still particular about things sometimes. Today she only wanted to sit on my lap to eat (with my heirloom silver fork) and she is not so happy with her play corner. She does love the new trash bin though, which she has learned to open and close by herself.