Tales from the Move

I've realized that moving is like childbirth. You have to forget how bad it is before you're willing to do it again. I had forgotten how completely terrible moving is. We never get movers with our relocation package and we always swear that we will never move again without professional movers. Maybe next time we'll really hold to that because we've outgrown the big U-Haul truck. We ended up having to rent a trailer, as well (thankfully, Will pulled it). AND there is still some small stuff left in Grenada. I remember when I was in college all my worldly possessions including a dorm refrigerator fit in my two-door Dodge Neon.

We thought we lost Hal twice during this move. First, as I was taking the carrier out of the back of my SUV at the new house, it broke open and he darted out. I had Ben on my hip and the carrier in the other hand so I started yelling for John. Thankfully, Hal only went under my vehicle. Since he's always been an inside cat, he had absolutely no idea what to do outside. John was able coax him out from under the car and get him back in the carrier. Second, Sunday afternoon John realized he hadn't seen Hal in a while. He began to panic thinking that he may have left the door open and let Hal out. We searched the entire house calling for him, looking under furniture, in closets and cabinets, etc. I even got a bag of treats and shook them as I walked through the house. I finally told John that I was 99% sure that Hal was gone. Minutes later, his head pops out from behind a mirror propped against the wall in our bedroom. I guess we didn't search as thoroughly as we thought.

The final boxes being unloaded from the trailer. Will helped us load and unload, which was such a blessing.

Half of our garage is full of boxes. We've made our bedroom, Ben's room, the living room, and dining room liveable. All the furniture is in place. Our kitchen, guest room, and office are total chaos. The dishes are still all packed and I haven't been able to locate any wash cloths. I did find towels and soap, though.
Ben sleeping in his new bedroom the first night. He slept all through the night and hasn't seemed upset by the move at all. I made setting his room up my first priority Sunday. We arranged his furniture, unpacked his books and toys, and hung all his clothes in the closet. It was like all his toys were new. I think he touched every one of them.