JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: It's moving day! No, not for me, thank God, but for my daughter and her family. My part is to be at their current house at 7:15 am (keep in mind it's an hour and twenty minute drive...) and watch my grandson "Paulie" while his mothers travel to Lewiston, Maine to sign the documents. Then, when they return, I'm taking their dogs - yes, again, but only for overnight this time. With their cat safely, if unhappily, locked in a room in the new place, this will clear the way for the local moving company to shift them 33 miles west.
My last move, in 1994, was also with a baby - six weeks instead of four months. Also? I had a seventeen-month old (that's the person who qualifies for a mortgage now. Sure didn't imagine that back then!)
Ross and I also hired a moving company, and, like Victoria and her wife, tried to pack up as much as possible to make the process quicker (we were only going 16 miles west!) However, Ross was a lawyer working something like 14 hours a day, and what little management/organizational ability I had was utterly scrambled by motherhood. It didn't help that we didn't actually start the process until a week before the moving truck arrived, unlike my daughter-in-law, who bought dozens of boxes and began packing as soon as their offer was accepted.
I recall the process only in glimpses, similar to the way people in a car only remember flashes of the terrible accident. There was the moment we were both up at 3am, trying to clean the kitchen while passing the fussy baby back and forth. At one point, I was nursing my son in the cab of the mover's truck, sobbing. For some reason, I have a clear memory of having no box in which to put the under-sink cleaning products, and deciding, "&#$% it, it'll just transfer with possession." Then nothing until Ross and I were standing in the main 40X20 foot room, saying to one another, "How are we ever going to fill all this space?" (Spoiler: we did.)
I've been in the same house since then, and friends and my children ask me if I consider getting someplace smaller, on one floor, say, and with MUCH less yard to maintain. And that would be nice! But honestly? I'm not sure I've recovered from the last move yet.
Dear readers, what are your moving stories?
We've moved three times and, other than remembering that we had boxes in storage, I have absolutely no memory of the process other than the fact that we moved ourselves each time . . . .
ReplyDeleteI'm happy for Victoria, her wife, and Paulie! I've heard the house market up there is crazy. Perhaps it is almost everywhere these days. I hope your sweet grandson has come 33 miles closer.
ReplyDeleteIn 42 years we've moved seven times and I've always done it almost entirely by myself. Found the rental, signed the papers, packed everything, unpacked everything (eventually including 75+ liquor boxes of books). My husband was always working. Once he was on business in China! For the cross-country moves to and from San Francisco, my brother, then a United Van Lines driver, drove our stuff and I flew with our 9-year-old son (and our golden retriever in a crate in the cargo hold) one way, and three years later, with our son, our baby daughter, and two cats in carriers under the seats the other way. For the trip from the Adirondacks to D.C., I packed and drove the 24-foot moving van. Had I ever driven a vehicle that size? No. Did I make out OK? Yes. However, after that experience I have always given U-Haul trucks a wide berth. For the last move, to our farm, I used my pick-up truck and I hired some teenaged muscle to help me wrestle furniture down stairs. I learned over all of these moves that I can shift almost anything by myself if I can slide it (using towels or blankets) and/or if I'm patient enough to proceed a couple of inches at a time. (Selden)
What I remember about moving is that it is easier to move from a smaller to a larger space. Downsizing bites. It is also easier to move when you are young and have young friends with good backs to help you. Moving in the winter in Minnesota was horrible, yet we did that twice. Moving across the country seemed daunting, but we managed to do that too. We used a packing cube company (The actual POD company was not in our area.) but we did all the packing and unpacking ourselves. My husband taped off the space for the cubes in the garage and meticulously stacked all the stuff for each cube out there ready for the arrival of the cubes. Then unstacked and restacked inside the cubes with the sturdy stuff on the bottom. It actually went very smoothly and the cubes were in storage right here in Ocala for the 2 months we rented while they finished building our house. They delivered them when we were ready and came back 72 hours later to pick up the empties.
ReplyDeleteI am still recovering from the Great Purge of 2024, as there are some things I wish I hadn’t gotten rid of, but overall it feels good not to have so much stuff. I love my new home —-yes all one level with zero entry! We don’t plan to move again. But, I know when our family of 5 moved in Feb. 2001 I said I wasn’t moving again until they carted me off to the nursing home. Never say never because you never know.
Brenda, what does “zero entry” mean? — Pat S
DeletePat zero entry means No steps to get in or out of our home, be it front door, through the garage or out to the lanai and back yard. The shower in our master bath is also zero entry. You can roll right in there in a wheel chair if you need to.
DeleteI also moved twice growing up. Including the 4 different places I lived during college, I have lived 11 different places in 5 different states in 63 years.
DeleteBrenda, one of my goals for this house was zero entry, including to the shower in the main bath. My mother, 96 and using a walker, can easily get into and out of our house from the garage, or with a single step into the front door. If need be, we can add a rubber ramp to that doorway to make it also a zero entry, er, entry. We still have a second floor with two bedrooms, and a finished basement, but could easily live on the first floor alone.
DeleteI wanted to be able to stay in our home, should the need ever arise when we needed assistance. Every doorway but one is also 36" wide, and the kitchen aisles are 42" wide, wheelchair friendly.
Does zero entry mean every thing is on ground level?
DeleteSeems practical - no steps to deal with. In the North Shore of Kaui, the homes are at ground level with the ocean so the the first level is raised up on 10-15 feet pillars. That way the floods from the waves or rain wash right underneath the house. I always wondered why this isn't done in areas prone to constant flooding and hurricanes.
After getting a quote for long distance moving, it was much easier and less expensive to replace the items I needed, and with my tangibles my family drove up and brought them down.
ReplyDeleteI moved (fifty miles north) with a 3 year old and a nursing five-month old. That wasn't fun!
ReplyDeleteHugh and I moved to Amesbury (from Ipswich, not far) in 2012. I'm afraid there are a few boxes in the basement that still have never been opened. Ugh.
On Facebook this week Celia shared Victoria's column about moving to Lewiston but it was behind a paywall and I couldn't read it. Is there some other way I can access it?
I have lots more moving stories, but the memory that rises up is being proud (smug...) that I could fit all my belongings in a VW bug. No longer the case! Like Suzette (below), I ain't leaving this modest three-bedroom (on two floors) house until I die or must have single-level living. Even then, we have a full bath with walk-in shower on the first floor, a den that could be (and has been) a bedroom, and we could build a ramp to get into the house. I don't want to move again.
DeleteI had a '61 VW Bug - bought it used in 1969 and loved how spacious it was inside. Yes, you could fit pretty much an entire apartment inside one. It was the best car. One interesting thing was there was no gas gauge. When you ran out of gas you flipped a switch on the floor to get one extra gallon of gas.
DeleteFirst move (other than into and out of college dorms) was as a newly wedded to USCG ensign from CT to Kodiak, AK. Second move from Kodiak to Boston. Professional movers were part of the military deal all those years ago. Then on my own, from Boston to Seattle with only a few possessions in a VW convertible. Because of those early professional moves, I have hired professional movers to pack and carry ever since. For me, well worth the expense and far less stress on body and soul. Last moves from Seattle to Connecticut (1992) and then the downsize move from CT to FL in 2020. Good wishes for your daughter’s family move, Julia. May they reward you generously for the pet moving services. Elisabeth
ReplyDeleteI hardly remember our move into this house in 1984. We moved from a condo that was smaller but configured differently. Anyway, we moved in here with a lot of stuff, including things of my mother's that my father and step mother had saved for me, like her China and crystal, but very little furniture. Jonathan was 2.
ReplyDeleteThe moves I remember were Jonathan's moves in Boston. Oh, boy. There is a Boston tradition, because of all the colleges and universities, for all apartment leases to end on the same day, and the grand moving day is September 1. I will use a Hebrew word here, "baligan!"
We rented a UHaul (Irwin drove it and I followed in our car. He could barely steer it straight.) for that move and drove it from Hartford to Boston where we collected him from a tiny, moldy, 1 bedroom and moved him into a stately apartment building in Brookline. That gorgeous 2 bedroom had wooden floors, paneling in the dining room, soaring ceilings and enormous windows. It also had a firehouse right behind it with alarms going off day and night. His roommate and his father were helping him and us move everything up but the 4 men couldn't figure out how to get Jonathan's beautiful couch to fit in the elevator. Parked about 30 feet from us was a real moving truck with two burly professional movers. I offered them $60 to get that couch into the elevator and up to my bunny boy's apartment. Done!
Men like driving a car never stop to ask directions or solutions. They figure they can do it without anyone's help. Of course I generalize. But, women, think outside the box and bingo get the job done. (Of course, this is true!).
DeleteCongratulations to Victoria and her family!
ReplyDeleteI moved into our first house with a 9 month old baby and nine month old poodle puppy. My husband was out of town. We had purchased the house in June, when it was daylight in the Cleveland area till 9pm. By the end of August, when I put the baby to bed, I discovered the only overhead light on the second floor was in the bathroom. My first purchase was a lamp for the nursery.
Beats putting the baby's bed in the bathroom!
DeleteThe one time I've moved, I was 2 1/2 and have no memory of it. That was to the house I'm in now which I've been living in for the past 50 plus years. So no real stories to share.
ReplyDeleteHowever, my father and I once helped move the son of a family friend out of the apartment he shared with his girlfriend. It was a relatively simple move...sort of. He and the girlfriend had broken up. He was moving out of a third floor apartment which meant a long trip each time we carried his stuff down the stairs. We then moved him into a 2nd floor apartment.
Again, it was relatively simple for a moving story. We got it all done in a day. But here's the kicker, a week or two later he called us and said he had gotten back together with the girlfriend and he was moving back in with her. Could we help move him? He was told, "you're on your own."
Hubs and I have moved way too many times. I think at this point, it's been 11 times. Soon to be 12. Always for a really good reason like jobs, family and finally, aging. Our last move was to Maine in the middle of Covid. We were trying to move near our older son in Hampton NH, but ended up nearer our younger son in Windham ME. And it worked for a while, but now we are gearing up to sell our house and move to, you guessed it, nearer older son, where our granddaughters are. And where we will hopefully find a much smaller house than the 3,000 sq ft we have now. I have started packing already, and giving away lots to my kids. Who now don't want anything more. So I know I will have about 1,000 sq ft of stuff I no longer want! And please notice I did not count all of the times I have helped my 2 sons move. I should be good at this by now but I still hate it!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if there is a way to have a charity (like a local church, Rotary, or school club, or even a for profit company that does estate sales) come in and take the 1000 sq ft of stuff you no longer want or sell it on site - you could also take a tax deduction for the value?
DeleteAs a freshly divorced young woman I stubbornly wanted only to live on my own without any roommate(s) which definitely limited my choice of affordable apartments. I lived in one flat where the shower was located in the kitchen (!), the stovetop only had two burners, there was no oven and a small refrigerator was located under the sink. I cooked everything in an electric skillet. I negotiated with the owner of the house a $50.00 cut in the monthly rent if I agreed to keep the front yard shrubs free of litter and beer cans. (I lived on a main road and Saturday nights always guaranteed me a Sunday morning clean up full of surprises.) As small as both the kitchen and main room was the bedroom was huge and inviting with a window seat under a bay window and an entire wall of closet space. The layout was strange and I'm sure was not up to code. I moved four times before I remarried and my husband and I purchased his two-family childhood home in Belmont, MA. His mother lived on the first floor (nearly 70 years) and we occupied the second floor apartment. When it became clear that this old house needed a complete facelift from roof to basement, inside and out, new plumbing, heating and electrical updates and additional bathrooms and the only affordable solution was to sell the three of us faced both the physical and especially emotional challenge of saying goodbye to lots of memories. Plus two moves in the same year. My mother-in-law Ann who had lived with us for nearly 40 years (and who had lived on the first floor as a young bride for 30 plus years prior) had nearly 3/4 of a century's worth of "stuff" that had accumulated as a result of raising six children in that house. Every report card, greeting card, trophy and personal item left behind by each sibling was a gargantuan project to face resulting in a dumpster in the driveway for over a month and two yard sales. To this day I can't imagine how difficult it was for Ann to say goodbye to 70 years of living in that home and at the age of 91 bravely moving to another town to live with her daughter who thankfully was thrilled to have her mother join her and her husband. She moved in the snowy month of January and we moved on Thanksgiving Day that same year. Nearly 12 years later (as well as being 12 years older) I'm not sure how we survived crawling around in a hot attic in July and sifting through everyone's personal things long left behind in the basement. It's as if we moved 8 people from that home ~ My husband and I, his mom and his five siblings. However, we were blessed to have a dear friend who owned a moving company assist us in both moves professionally packing everything in clearly marked boxes and clothing "wardrobes". Plus another close friend who bought our home and who worked with our timeline of when our condo would be ready (window treatments completed, appliances installed, etc.) and who also gave our old house its badly-needed facelift. From attic to basement ~ completely renovated, 3 new bathrooms added, and brand new electrical, plumbing and HVAC installed. It went from a two-bathroom duplex to a five-bathroom duplex and two beautiful apartments. My husband and I were delighted as we felt the house, although long in the tooth, was jam-packed with love and decades of family history and greatly deserved another life cycle of additional generations and more memories. We still miss living so close to Boston, our Sunday morning walks or bike rides along the Charles River and many hours we spent in the City but over a decade later are still enjoying the thrill of Cape Cod discoveries and being a part of American history here in Plymouth.
ReplyDeleteOh Julia, good luck with everything today! Hoping Lewiston is easier for you to get to than where Victoria and her wife are now! We moved a fair amount when I was young. And then to college and back -worse I’m sure for my Mom than for me. I lived in 4 different apartments before I was married and we moved, from separate apartments to our first (and only) apartment just before we married. Our last move was in 1989 to our current house. I hope to stay here until we need one level living. 🤞🏼that’s at least 12 years away. I have started trying to reduce, recycle, get rid of but you all know how that goes.
ReplyDelete2003 – moved from Ontario to the far eastern part of Nova Scotia. By ourselves. 2 adults, 2 children – one 23 supposed to be helping, one 13 – it was his birthday – oh the moaning. 23-year-old did not help other than to annoy the 13-year-old from another vehicle – no cell phones just walkie-talkies – squawk, squawk!! One sister/-in-law – butt-insky who thought herself God. Enough said. 17 cats, 2 old English sheep dogs, a turtle, a rabbit, and should have been about 40 finches but they succumbed the night before – stress from the proximity of the cats – another story but very sad. Livestock – 2 geese, 5 ducks including Stanley who thought he was a stud-duck, quite a few chickens, and a frozen turkey on the roof- perfectly good food, no need to waste it.
ReplyDeleteTook 3 days. First day money did not go through from sale of house – had to wait. Day 2 – snow storm and blizzard going through Quebec. Stopped by cops 20 miles down the road – they shook their heads and said – move on… (a bit overloaded in truck 2 that was swaying all over the lane.) Really blizzarding by Riviere de Loup. Stopped at a DancerNues motel (not the motel that your mother would recommend). Took 2 rooms. Moved animals in – rabbit in bathtub, turtle in the sink – we didn’t ask if animals were allowed – best not to. Livestock stayed out in the snow – they had feathers, turkey on the roof said nothing.
Left - quietly – in the morning in the blizzard. At least it was light out. At end of New Brunswick, we stopped for a weigh station for the large moving van – pulling a trailer with an antique ATV, a motor cycle, and enough (old) tires to start a used tire shop and some perfectly good heavy duty glass suitable for windows.. Buddy says you are overweight – maybe you can move the snow off the roof – here is a broom. Up on the roof Jack goes – he is half dead from worry about all of this move. Sweeps. Needle on scale does not move. Buddy looks at him and says where are you from and where are you going. Ontario to Cape Breton. Now imagine if you will, a lumber-jack who has been lost in the woods for months, clothes ripped and piled on and generally in disrepair, and needing a beard trim and a haircut under the toque. Right. Buddy says ”most people who look like you are going the other way… Don’t stop again.” We thanked him, got in the vehicles and kept driving until after midnight. Stars came out at the top of Kelly’s Mountain (Cape Breton), and it was a beautiful night.
My parents had left us a cooked chicken and a birthday cake for when we arrived. We snuffed it!
23 years.now. Don’t ever have to move again.
Enjoy your day with Paulie.
OMG Margo, that sounds like a Dave story from Vinyl Cafe.😆
DeleteDave should be so lucky!
DeleteMargo - that is a blockbuster movie waiting to be produced!
DeleteI can't even imagine the fortitude it took to get through such a move with all the animals.
Oh my gosh, what an adventure!
DeleteOh Margo! You can't know how much I needed this laugh today! "turkey on the roof said nothing" Howling here in northern Ohio!
DeleteI got a laugh from the turkey on the roof. But, I think it screams something, not sure what though.
DeleteOh, Margo. I got stuck trying to imagine the 17 cats!!! And the turkey on the roof!
DeleteI am way too experienced at moving. Growing up, I believe my family moved seven times. Then from the time I moved out of a college dorm to the time hubby and I moved into our current home added another ten moves, if I'm remembering correctly. And that doesn't count the moves I did for my son and sister.
ReplyDeleteThe year 2024 was my nightmare year for moves. In April, in preparation for his departure for Japan, we moved my son out of his apartment. He sold off most of his larger possessions, so we were able to move him with just a small truck, but it was still a lot of work. In September we moved into our retirement condo. We used professional movers but it was still quite an ordeal, beginning with the movers showing up hours late. Then in November, we moved my sister from one independent living apartment to another because we no longer felt her neighborhood was safe. We used a hybrid U-Haul service where we rented the truck but hired guys to do the lifting -- a service I would recommend for anyone needing to keep the cost down for an apartment-sized move. Honestly, though all the moving days were stressful, the thing that stands out in my mind from that year of moves is just cleaning. Perpetually cleaning. Oy, the cleaning.
We've only moved twice - from our first apartment to the first house, then from there down to Ligonier. I don't remember any emotionally scarring stories from the first move. For this one, it was, "There is no way we can take all these books" and a lot of "Where is X? Oh at the other house." At least we still own the other house (The Boy is living there while in school) so it's a matter of going there to retrieve said item.
ReplyDeleteBut I never want to move again.
Love these stories! Although I have moved several times I've never used professional movers. The closet to that was the two times we rented a U-haul truck and di it ourselves, with help from friends and relatives. I probably should sell this house and move someplace smaller but I simply cannot face the effort it would take.
ReplyDeleteLike Julia, I grew up in a military family (Navy) and between birth and age 10 we moved 6 times. I actually loved moving to new places - new people, new experience. I wish we could have moved in my high school years overseas but dad had retired by then and my parents were done traveling.
ReplyDeleteI married a man who hates moving (although he is retired Navy reserve) and I wish we could have moved to different places from time to time. We've lived in our current location since (hub 1973) and me (1977) - but we did a complete remodel (as in new construction) finished in 1996.
I haven't moved very often, and when I did, it was pretty simple with a small U-Haul that wasn't even half full and one load. Now I have more stuff, and I'm determined to get rid of some of it.
ReplyDeleteI flash on helping my son move out of his dorm room in Eugene after his first year of college. I think he was on the 4th floor--no elevator. He hadn't packed anything. I brought boxes and we packed and schlepped stuff for a long time. Ugh. When he's changed apartments in Chicago, he has used professional movers and left old mom off the helper lift, thank goodness.
I'm thinking he's an Oregon Ducks fan?
DeleteHe's not a Ducks fan. Eugene wasn't a good fit for him, and when I moved him out of there, it was for good. He transferred to Lewis & Clark, which was a way shorter drive and his dorm room was only on the 2nd floor. He still never packed anything, but I consider it a win-win for mom.
DeleteMy niece attended Lewis & Clark and we visited the campus years ago. Such a beautiful place. I bought a number of art pieces there at a student art sale, which I still enjoy. My daughter graduated from Reed College (another beautiful campus) and my son in law teaches at PSU. Portland has some great colleges.
DeleteWow! So many stories about moving. My last move was in 2004! I donated most of my books to the new public library, which recently had been built. Thank goodness I kept some books that are now out of print or had the series discontinued! I have two stories.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a preteen, we helped a classmate’s grandmother move. I remember carrying boxes into her new apartment. To my surprise, the grandmother wrote me a check to thank me for helping her move. I couldn’t understand why because I wanted to help. No expectations of money!
Just before I started university, we hired the “starving students” movers, who not only showed up late but also damaged my Ethan Allen dresser! They were not students. They showed up drunk and it was clear they were not college students at all. We told them to go away! I always tell my friends Not to use Starving Students. They were “cheap” which is why some people used them.
Maybe they are starving because they spend all their money on beer!!
DeleteHaha! Starving because they spent all their money on drugs and gin.....
DeleteCongratulations to your daughter and her family on the new house, Julia! I know that feeling well. Forty-six years ago, my wife sold our house just after we brought home a new baby, and we also had a six-year-old at the time. The only catch was that I was still building our new house, so the four of us ended up moving in with my parents for six months. We all survived, and we’ve been here ever since. It sounds a little crazy now, but when you’re in your twenties, adventures like that don’t seem to faze you.
ReplyDeleteThat is so very true! We think back to those days, and realize—we did WHAT? So funny!
DeleteI was thinking about that the other day Ang. Being young and having a can do anything attitude gets things accomplished that we'd never even attempt in our "old" age.
DeleteHow about a wonderful moving experience, just for contrast :-) ?
ReplyDeleteWhen I moved to Boston in 1983, the television station that hired me was very eager to bring me to town. So they told me they would take care of my move.
A friend and I drove to Boston, just for the fun of the ride, and I moved into a hotel, the Parker House, for two weeks. Meanwhile, back in Atlanta, the movers packed everything up, I mean everything, drove it to Boston , brought it to my new apartment, and unpacked everything as I watched, and showed them where things went.
Easiest move ever. I cringe when I think of how much that must’ve cost. But well, that was a complete pleasure :-)
I hope I never forget the level to which they packed everything – – I got half open cereal boxes carefully wrapped in brown paper, and my most vivid image is them unwrapping a single bottle of ketchup.
But again, wow. That was the way to move.
So envious, Hank. So, so envious.
DeleteBest of luck to Victoria and her sweet family in their new home!
ReplyDeleteI have moved way too many times in my life, and almost envy Jay's solidly planted self. When we moved into our second home in 1985 I swore I would be taken out toes up! We lived there 34 years before we built the home we live in now, but we are both glad we took that step. This house is very easy to live in and keep up with, unlike the 80-year old home with constant issues, plus steps everywhere.
It was a booger, though. First, we had to empty the house that was here, home to Steve's family's business for 60 years. Four dumpsters worth of stuff, plus six carloads and endless bins of recyclables, three trailerloads of films and other stuff to the farm, and a two-car garage full of things Steve could not let go of. Then we had to get rid of 34 years' worth of extra stuff at our actual home, both making room for a temporary office for Steve, and making it stage-worthy to sell. Only after our new place was built could we move our furniture, etc. in. All of this we did ourselves, except for moving the heavy pieces. We hired one of our tenants and his son to provide muscle.
If I ever have to move again it is going to be under extreme duress only!
Like many of you, I'm also a military brat (went to 3 different high schools, thank you very much!) and I served in the Army for 20 years myself, so my daughter is too! I'm a single parent, so when I was reassigned every 1 or 2 years, my parents would take my daughter on adventures while I did the actual move. Those trips, sans "the warden" (me!) are some of my daughter's fondest memories.
ReplyDeleteThe military offers so many advantages to those who don't mind frequent moves. And the Navy has bases all over in places that are prime locations - Hawaii, Japan, Spain, England, Newport RI, San Diego CA, Pensaola FL, and many others.
DeleteRobin how cool your parent served, you served and now your daughter! Congrats!
We moved three houses away after we finished remodeling our house a year and a half ago. Three houses away, you say? Piece of cake! Well, yes and no. We walked a lot of stuff down and loaded my minivan repeatedly and drove it down. We did actually hire movers to pack up the heavy furniture because, as my husband said repeatedly during this whole process, “We’re too old to do this!” And the last thing he did, which many of us (me) thought was crazy at the time, was he ordered one of those PODS-like crates. It was dropped off in one driveway, we filled it with boxes, and then the company moved it to the other driveway. We rented it for a month to allow us time to get the furniture in place and figure out where everything went. Really helped alleviate some of the stress at the time. And since we’ve remodeled and upgraded our house, we’re hoping to stay here until if/when we need to move into a care facility. — Pat S
ReplyDeleteCongrats to Victoria and her wife on their new house, and I hope this means they are closer to "granny."
ReplyDeleteWe moved into this house 30 years ago last August--it seems like whenever I have moved it's been in August and 100+ degrees. I also remember how empty and spacious this old house seemed then! Not so much anymore. We could definitely use a smaller house, a much smaller yard, and one level, but the thought of moving (and/or getting rid of) 30 years worth of stuff is enough to make me collapse in a swoon.
My parents moved several times. Frank's parents did too. Ergo, we moved several times. First one after marriage was Austin to New Orleans. Back then the male half could drive all night with no bathroom breaks. We hauled a U-Haul trailer with our worldly goods. Next big move was New Orleans to El Paso. We drove a U-Haul truck and towed my car behind. Landed at our rental house in the middle of a sandstorm. Next move was to Lubbock, and paid for by the company. Hooray! Our two year old son had to show his displeasure by breaking a window in the house we were leaving and selling. Mind you I'm not including the in-town moves. Lubbock to Cleveland, Ohio was next. Son and dog fought on the back seat for space the whole trip. Meals were at McDonald's with dog fed last, a junior hamburger. Move paid for by the company. Arrived in winter; didn't see the ground for months. Next move to Minnesota. Stuck in the front yard for hours, checking off boxes being unloaded while the prairie winds blew. Got smart the next time. Minnesota to Houston. I broke up the drive by stopping in the Dallas area and spending a day with my folks. Frank was stuck receiving the goods in Houston by himself. The dog and I showed up a day later. The moves haven't ended since I'm in Virginia and he's in east Texas parttime, but enough already!
ReplyDeleteI went through a phase of many moves in the days when my possessions were relatively minimal (books, clothes, basic furnishings and kitchen stuff). That usually made transporting my stuff from old place to new place pretty easy. But one move in particular was not, despite the fact I was moving from one apartment in Portland's West End to another that was directly across the street. I was a student (you remember!) and had no money to hire movers, and made the deeply regrettable error of not recruiting a bunch of pals to help because I figured it would be a breeze. It was not, because old place was on the third floor and new place was on the third floor, so every load had to be hauled down two flights of stairs and up two flights of stairs. And it was a hot, hot day. After many hours, when I lugged the last load to my new abode, my clothes were dripping with sweat and my legs were rubber.
ReplyDeleteBut at least I did not have to care for a baby while moving - that is truly heroic - on your part and on V and her wife's part. Good luck to them!
I just counted, and I think I've moved 23 times (not counting from dorm to dorm in college), but my parents moved at least 30 times, and nine of my moves were as a child with them. Nothing to do with the military; my parents liked adventures, and my father changed jobs so they could live in interesting places (or, a few times, because a job didn't work out or he got fired). As an adult I've never lived in a house, always in an apartment, which means I didn't have so much to pack. In fact, years ago, when I moved from a one-room apartment in Cambridge (MA) to a one-room apartment in Berkeley, I was able to pack up everything I wanted to save (including lamps, all my kitchenware, chairs, and a large folding table) and send it via USPS or UPS. It was never pleasant, but I can't remember any disasters. I hope my husband and I can stay in the apartment we've been in for 33 years now, which we love, but, realistically, chances are there will eventually be one last move to independent/assisted living/nursing home. Hopefully, not any time soon!!!
ReplyDelete