Day 87
The mantra of the day was … JUST DON’T WATCH …though, at times, it was hard not to.
The movers arrived at 9:30 this morning and nearly 9 1/2 hours later I was waving good-bye to these 5 strong men like they were old friends. A nice crew. Funnier than heck. Naughty humor. Potty mouthed. Cheerful, friendly and helpful. And stronger than oxen.
I have packed my life’s belongings since I knew this sale was really going through … maybe for the past 5 weeks. Maybe 6. Not more than that. My 33 years of adulthood and family life were packed into 644 boxes (not including furniture) and packed into 2 trucks today in less than 10 hours.
I don’t know how the guys did it! But, I can tell you for sure, I just didn’t want to watch most of it.
And not because it was my life they were putting into those trucks (emptying my home of my possessions and memories) … the boxes that held the baby clothes and childrens’ toys and photo albums and all my business “stuff” … and all the business stuff of businesses I hope to one day have along with everything else but because they carried 3-4 of those boxes at a time … up and down stairs … down steps and curbs … up into those trucks. Boxes precariously stacked … boxes that I painstakingly packed of FRAGILE items that were being carried as if a bundle of sticks.
I really tried not to watch … the stacked fragile boxes, the pounding on the piano when the last leg refused to come off, the 200 pound piece of furniture being carried on one of their backs with nothing but a small rope to hold it in place …
It’s not that the guys didn’t care about the items (which I’m really sure was the case and they didn’t); it’s just that it’s my stuff. MY stuff. And I knew the valuation of things and how long it had taken me to wrap and pack all of it and what was in those boxes they were carrying (apparently) without a care!
Stuff. I watched all my furniture (sans this computer and what will go into my car) and 99.8% of my worldly goods go into those trucks today and if I had 12 minutes to pick out items to save from a fire or flood I know in an instant what they would be. So why did I just not take those 4 things and WHY am I moving 644 boxes and a ton of furniture cross country?
Good question.
Reason #1 – I am a sentimental fool. I figure I’ve latched on to certain items now for so long that who am I to give them up at this stage of the game? I’ve saved baby stuff for future grandchildren so long now that it would be silly to let go of things when the promise of them is so much more likely and closer than ever before. And who knows when I might get a hankering to play with a bin (or two) of Barbies or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?
Reason #2 – I didn’t have time to sell what I probably should and could have. Just didn’t. I had 6 weeks to find a home and pack up 33 years (26 of them in this house), go to a graduation, have 2 garage sales, run a business, and get moved. I didn’t have time to pick through as much as I should have – so, I packed most of it up and will take it with me to sort through at that end. Not the best way to do this sort of thing – but it made the most sense at this given time.
And reason #3 – I like my stuff. I like my comfy couch and my antiques and my thousand books (almost) and all dish sets and entertaining novelties that I own. It’s okay. I know stuff is stuff and can be replaced … but I like my stuff and would rather have it than not.
So, I lie here on the floor of my office and though I am totally exhausted, I am also grateful for the workers today for being so good at their job, for making this overwhelming day better than I had expected, and for lifting file cabinets like they were feathers when I can barely get the doors open because they are so heavy. Their sheer strength was amazing to me!
And even though I tried not to watch them do most of the carrying out of my precious cargo … I did sneak a peek now and then and am also grateful they had that job … and not me!