Friday, January 9, 2012. The day started in an ordinary way. The sun rose, we got up, had breakfast and awaited the arrival of the movers. I could not have guessed at that moment that I would not shave or change clothes for two days or that I would fall asleep that night under glowing stars with a giraffe watching over me.
The movers arrived a little after nine and backed their huge tractor trailer into the alley behind our house. All seven of them came in, looked lethargically around and then went into hyper drive. I never saw people move so fast carrying such heavy loads. Anything that wasn't in a box, went into a box and got loaded on the truck. It was about the time that all the boxes were loaded that Anne asked me if I had loaded our overnight bags into our cars. No, I didn't do that. I hadn't finished packing mine, but was so diverted by the many questions the foreman had, that I forgot about it. Well, our bags got packed, taped in a box and loaded on the truck, Heavens knew where. Pedro, the foreman, climbed the three story high pile of boxes trying to see, but it was hopeless. In addition to my underwear, my meds were also in my bag. They offered to unpack the truck, but I decided that I would somehow survive.
The loading was finished by about 4:00 o'clock, but it took Anne and I a few more hours to get the cars packed with miscellaneous stuff and to try to give a last minute cleaning to the house. We had hired a neighbor woman we know, who does it as a profession, to clean the house. I was to take care of cleaning the attic and the basement. That task turned out to be impossible, because the movers had also loaded my cleaning equipment.
Evening came and we headed to Ted's house where Patti provided a delicious meal for us. The twins were in bed by the time we got there so we didn't see them until the next morning. We decided to wash our clothes at their house so that we would at least start the next day in fresh clothes.
Six year old Bridget gave up her double bed to us for the night. As I lay my weary head on the pillow, I looked up and there were glowing stars pasted to the ceiling and Bridget's very large stuffed giraffe stood at the foot of the bed watching over us.
Tuesday dawned and after a hearty breakfast provided by Patti and Teddy, we headed North. The weather was great for driving and the views were especially nice. The weather was so mild that we decided to stop at a rest area and eat our lunch half in and half out of the car rather than going to a fast food establishment. It was a good choice. We arrived at our house and did some preliminary preparation for the movers who were to arrive the next day. At least I had some clean clothes that I had previously brought to the house. I hadn't brought all the underwear I would have liked and I hadn't brought a razor.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012. The truck was to arrive between 9:00 and 11:00 a.m., so we were surprised when we got a call before nine that they were about three miles away. This time there were five men, as promised and they worked equally fast and hard as the men who did the loading. Two of the men were the same. As was suggested by the movers, we had color coded the boxes with dots to designate the rooms to which the boxes were to be delivered. That worked relatively well, although I didn't realize how many boxes I had designated for the basement and my workshop. I have been busy clearing a path so that I can begin to sort and unpack. My method of packing was to number each box and then to write the contents in a notebook. That works well also, except that the boxes are not deposited in any sort of order, so I have to take box 75 and look at my notebook to find out what's in it. White Glove Moving and Storage did a fine job at the agreed price. The workers were polite and worked hard. At one point in the unloading process, one of the men came to me and said, "Sorry, Sir. You have a pump for the toilet?" I told him where the plunger was and dreaded the thought of what had happened. When I checked the bathroom later, it was spotless. At another point, I decided that I wanted to move a sofa bed a few inches so, instead of asking two strapping young men to move it, I asked one to help me. He readily agreed and as we started to life, I somehow slipped, fell backwards and hit my back and head against a wooden desk. My head, being as hard as it is, is fine, but my back is still paying for my foolishness. Sometime around 12:00 or 1:00 o'clock Anne found the box with our over night bags and my meds. The movers finished about three thirty and then we went out to dinner with Anne's brother Andy and his wife Mary Kay to the Filling Station for wings night and a beer, of course. I should note that the weather was unseasonably mild during the unloading as well (thanks to the intersession of St. Theresa, I believe). The next day we went out and bought a washer and dryer which were to be delivered on Friday between 9:00 and 11:00. It had snowed during the night and I figured I had plenty of time to shovel before they arrived, but at about ten to nine, I looked out and what to my wondering eyes should appear but the truck from the appliance store. Two young men got out, shoved the snow, took the cellar door off its hinges and got the machines all working. They put the door back too.
Now we are here and have had about five inches of snow so far. I put gas in the snow blower and off I went. When I came back in I found that Anne hadn't got all the boxes unpacked yet, so I set about to help her. We're making progress, but it will be awhile before everything is sorted out. Anyway, we like our house and are not planning to move from it anytime soon, if ever.
