Moving, Part 1

Boy, did I forgot how much moving sucks. Makes a lot of sense to me what Marilyn, our dithery real estate agent told me: Realtors try to move about every five years to remind themselves how awful it is. Thinking that maybe we should do the same, since I never want to have to go through this again. Or as I told Dad this afternoon, who said I'll never have to do this alone again, "The next time, hopefully it'll be Rachel moving me into an assisted living facility and I'll be too old to care about possessions anymore."

That got a laugh. Hey, at least I have somewhat of a sense of humor left.

Anyway, the movers came and forgot to pack up a bunch of things. Apparently they are also incapable of taking down wall hangings because, you know, they involve nails. And the ones that don't involve nails and are simply hung from the crown moldings and need nothing more than a little nudge to come down -- well, they're waaay too complicated to deal with. So, after they left I went around the house taking things down with a hammer and a Philips screwdriver. Then I started cleaning out what's left of the food in the refrigerator. We have about five huge bags of garbage, plus recycling, that I'll have to haul to the curb tonight. I have no idea what time they'll start loading the truck tomorrow, but I hope it's after I get Rachel home from preschool. This whole thing hasn't gone as smoothly as I'd anticipated, which is a shame but there's really nothing I can do except stay up late, finish all the tasks I can and hope we make it out of here without having extra boxes of stuff that I'll have no idea what to do with.

Tonight was also bittersweet -- it was the last trek to Hot Lips Pizza, playing in the Jamison Fountain and getting chocolate sorbet at Cool Moon Ice Cream. They're all within a block or two of each other, and on really hot days, like today, I'd arrange for Rachel, her friend Devin, Devin's mom Linda (who I really like) and, sometimes, Linda's husband Jim to join us for an evening involving all three. This was the last extended time we'll all be able to spend together, and Linda started crying a little at the end because, she said, she's going to miss us. Linda is going through a hard time -- a nightmare work situation where she is disrespected at work, even though she's an award-winning architect; a friend who's going through chemo; a house that she says is a disaster and just general stress all around. I told her to make sure to CALL ME, even if I'm on the road, and I can talk her through things. I had thought that Devin and Rachel would remain besties even though they were heading to different kindergartens. We've promised to keep in touch, and Jim's family lives in Maryland so there's a reasonable chance that we'll see them again, but it won't be the same. And that makes me sad.