The transfer of our household goods and worldly possessions is finally complete. After seven long days of gathering, packing, loading, unloading, unpacking and disbursing in some of the hottest, steamiest July weather imaginable, we are here!
In the finaly weigh-in, our loads totalled a whopping 14,000 pounds! The loading day went great until they hit the attic. Over the past six years, Dave had stowed away and out of sight, the parents’ nightmare – the kid stuff that stays behind after the kids are long gone. Even though we’d spent countless hours weeding through our own book and memorabilia, we’d overlooked the many boxes containing the stuff Maggie and Andy had collected and left with us in safe keeping. And, while I enjoy seeing the rough neck boxes of Legos and Barbies, the heavy book cartons of college texts do not leave me with the same warm fuzzies.
On the delivery day, Maggie came up and helped with unpacking the kitchen. It was fun to open the boxes with her and unwrap the dishes until we realized that the items we will use really only needed a couple of shelves. Many more shelves needed to be reserved for the other stuff – the parents’ revenge – stuff your parents give you to preserve when they downsize. Again, I enjoyed seeing each water glass and serving dish and the warm memories of my life as a young person but don’t really care for climbing the ladder over and over again to nestle them on the way top shelves. I told Maggie I felt as if we were a travelling Smithsonian exhibit. She said she hoped someday she’d have a place big enough so she could take some of these things off my hands. All I can say is, me too!