11th Hour

 The 11th hour is upon us. In less than 12 hours they will be here to pick up the pod and take it across the country. With the exceptions of the items and clothing I plan to take in the car and a few odds and end items that I missed while packing, everything of mine is bubble wrapped, boxed and packed in the pod. I woke in the morning with the goal of working to help Karen and Ken get to that point also. But it was a bit like dragging a large dog into the exam room at the vet. It didn't help at all that the weather was like whiplash. In the course of an hour, it went from bright sunshine to snowing hail, then back to sunshine and then overcast and rain. Absolutely crazy weather to be trying to move in.

My plan really was to pack up Ken's room while he was at work. But he didn't go to work today. There was no explanation why. He also didn't pack anything in his room. He isn't feeling well, I know this. He is still recovering from the flu. It took me more than a month to get back to normal from it. But he wouldn't let me pack his things either. He was even more a bit short tempered about it when he told me he'd pack everything this coming weekend, and I replied that they will be here tomorrow morning to pick up the pod.

Karen slept in really late. After she got up, we both worked very hard to get what we could in the pod. We have the things we want from both sheds. All that I'm leaving behind in them for the junkers are two cheap suitcases that I hate. I'm not even going to glance at what Karen and Ken are leaving. I was totally appalled to find out that Karen was keeping an picture of our grandmother out in the shed. The picture was taken about 1911 or 12. My grandmother who was around 2 at the time was stylishly dressed, standing in front of a period toy and wearing pearls and a gold locket. It is in a very ornate, gold leaf frame that was damaged by the neglect of being left in the shed. Besides being an amazing family heirloom, it is probably worth a fortune. And she put it in the shed to keep the bats company...

Then tonight...As we were just heading out to buy more tape and boxes, Karen's daughter showed up. I love Nora, and it is great to see her home from Hawaii. But she is a major distraction. Every item to be packed is passed back and forth. The memories of it are discussed and the gossip about anyone else who is associated with the item is shared. This would have been fabulous a few weeks ago, but c'mon! We are at the "Throw it in a box and get it out the door" stage of this move. 

Not only is Nora here, but I have learned that our friend, Sandy will be here to help us. Karen told me this a few days ago. At first she told me that Sandy was coming on Friday afternoon to help us get everything packed. My reply was a deadpan, as emotionless as I could make it, "They are coming to pick up the pod on Friday morning." And Karen replied, "She will help us clean." Then later that same day I was looking into the pantry and asked if we should take the can goods over to the homeless shelter. She said no, that Carley and the girls would be coming over on Friday afternoon to pick up art supplies and my bike and a scooter. She could go the cans to see what she wanted and then we could pack the rest of it up to take to Alabama. As deadpan and emotionless as I could make it, I reiterated for about the millionth time that they would be picking up the pod on Friday morning. We have decided to take the cans that are left to the shelter after ...who knows after what. Because Carley is going to leave the girls with us and they will have a sleep over here with Nora. Sandy will be staying the night too.......I. Have. No. Words. So, in our 860 sqft house, that is torn apart, everything sitting on the floor because we are moving, we will have five adults and three children having a sleep over. What could possibly go wrong? 

And we have a dog and two cats who are freaking out because of the chaos. 

Did you see the moon tonight? There was a total eclipse.