As it turns out, Horace Greeley didn't coin the phrase he is credited with, but I did it anyway.Without retelling my last post, i'll say that this move came on short notice and everything had to fall into place just right for it to come off reasonably smooth. It didn't, it wasn't, and it still isn't, but i'm gaining on it. Now here are the facts: 1500sqft 3bdr apartment in Garland => 370 miles => 1600+sqft 3bdr apartment in Amarillo. The biggest truck U-Haul has, two teenage boys and half the offensive line, bundles of boxes and a refrigerator dolly. Two sheep to get butchered, one car to get fixed, one week to pack, and a whole bunch of friends to say goodbye to.
Okay, so the last week in Garland, Donna had my car in Amarillo, i got the sheep to the butcher, and all i had to do was pack. Firstly, this left me without a car. Thankfully, i have a couple of friends, Julie and Tina, whom i love terribly, who didn't allow me to want for anything. I really do Thank You Guys!!!
At this point all i really had to do was pack. I set a goal of ten boxes a day over and above whatever it was i did during the school day. I'd love to say this was a good plan, but i can't. One kid packed and watched TV at the same time and the other packed with one hand, the other one was needed for texting. I just love teenage boys. I mean i really had a plan on how things needed to roll out and it got started off wrong and got worse. Donna flew back in on Friday night and we were supposed to go eat dinner afterward. Naturally, her flight was delayed and she got home late. We still had dinner, but it was during the time we were supposed to be doing something else. Ugh!!
On Friday, i picked up the truck and the boys from school. They were amazed that i could drive it around town. I never really thought too much about it. I had errands to run and it was transportation. The only time things got a little weird was when i went to take our mechanic friend some money for the car and had to negotiate that monster through his neighborhood, but not a problem.
Saturday morning, i backed the truck up in the only place i could get it. It was about sixty yards from our apartment. There's nothing like lugging stuff for a move, unless you add a hike to it. The football players showed up en masse and i thought all right, we're going to get this knocked out in no time. OOPS!!! silly me, what was i thinking. They carried the boxes one at a time instead of using the dolly because they said it was easier. The funny thing is two of them would carry a box and two more would walk with them to the truck. Kind of funny, but kind of annoying. Then my worst fears about the Tourister Luggage Ape came true. Among other things, they dropped my wife's Lane chest, her cabinet Victrola, and a box of green glass. I just cringed and went on. It's not like i could yell at these kids, they were doing us a favor. Then the most remarkable thing happened.
First i have to say that during the week i went to the dollar store and bought fifteen rolls of that cheap cling wrap. You know the kind that doesn't stick to anything but itself and i wrapped everything i could with it. Including my chest of drawers that all my office stuff and sewing patterns are in. Okay, now for the remarkable part.
One of the kids decided to use the dolly to move things and he started with my chest of drawers. I'm standing in the back of the truck watching him come down the side walk, attended to by two other boys, and i noticed that my chest looked funny. So, i looked around and found a good place to put it in the truck and in they came. My chest was on the dolly upside down????????????? Oh Lord. The only way to keep from completely screwing things up was to roll the chest end over end to right it without losing everything in the drawers. I really wanted to scream at this point. So, as we promised we took the kids to Ci Ci's Pizza and let them chow down. I took a xanax and a nap.
It was too late in the day, so we stayed over and left Sunday. Everything was going fine and we stopped in Decatur for lunch. I remembered that my crochet bag was in the back of the truck and i needed my glasses for driving in the dark. So, while we waited on our food, the boys went out and got in the back of the truck to get my glasses.
What happened next, seemed to happen in slow motion. The boys were rooting around for a bag that was on the top of the small filing cabinet at the very end of the truck. Something they futzed with moved my wife's three foot statue of the Virgin Mary and it fell out of the truck. I was looking on in Horror. I know how she is about that statue i gave her many years ago and there wasn't a damn thing i could do about it. I went to get up and she was standing at the table, frozen, grey, and tearful. I went out and picked up the three pieces of Mary and put them back in the truck. Both of the boys were crying and i assured them i could fix her. That remains to be seen. Then i picked my bag off of the filing cabinet and closed up the truck. Lunch was kind of sad and quiet with lots of assurances all around.
We made it to Amarillo and i parked the truck. We kept the truck an extra day and got everything inside our new place. For the next eight days i only had one of the eight Chicago Screws i needed to put our bed together. We found the other seven and it took us a day or two to find the one i had. The boys got their own rooms which puts me without a sewing room, which in turn means there is a lot of boxed and tubbed crap stacked about, but i'm gaining on it.
So far my only complaints are the stove, which is a nightmare and they've assured me they will fix or replace and the water which smells like something i would mop with. YUK!!! However, it is quiet and Donna's commute went from forty five minutes to just five. The kids start school Monday and i'm looking forward to that. Now all i have to get used to is paying three fifty for a gallon of milk instead of ninety nine cents. Well, that and being cold all the time.
Until next time, Peace be with you, Dave
