We Are Out!

As of 9:30 pm, my/our apartment was packed up. The last three days have been a whirlwind of stuff, packing, processing, emotions, and stress. There were some lovely flashes of entertainment and joy in the midst of everything, but moving and prepping for the trip together was really exhausting emotionally and physically for everyone involved.

I had some wonderful people here to help out and that made all the difference in the world. Damon, of course, was an amazing trooper through all of this. I know that it is hard for him to help me move, since I have a lot of stuff. Seriously, only about a quarter of the storage unit is his stuff. It's frustrating and I am a very scattered individual. He helped out all three days, schlepping stuff for me. There really are no words to communicate how much this means to me.

In addition to Damon, my mom and Diana (Damon's mom) helped pack up the apartment. You don't realize how much stuff you have until you have to put it into boxes and lug it around. They were so wonderful, talking and chatting and just working their way through everything. They complemented each other really well, as my mom is a "throw everything in the box and sort it out later" type of person (my type of packing), and Diana is a "like with like" type of person. These two were at my house for the past four days helping and chatting and just being there with me, which was such a gift. They both absorbed a bunch of stuff into their own households, as well as taking some stuff to store for us.

Then there was Steve. He carried boxes on his weekend for me. He also sharpened out knives for us, and labeled lots of food bags. I would bring him over a pen and a bunch of food and just tell him what needed written on the bags. That in itself was really helpful, just because that was one step that I didn't have to do.

And then there was Beth. You will hear more about our background in a different blog, but she was amazing. This woman came in after working full days on Saturday and Sunday and helped out with food prep. She was willing to work her way through recipes and boxed meals. Her spirit was such a wonderful thing to have in the house, as she was kind, funny, and relaxed. It helped balance out all of the other anxieties that were going on.

Jenn also made an appearance. She took on the kitchen, which was wonderful. She just started in and kept going. She also has helped us out by helping home a bunch of stuff. She took some bookshelves, as well as helped us find a home for our tv stand. She is also taking on sealing the dog food in bags. That is a wonderful gift, since we were only able to finish up the food for the humans. We have enough for a short while, but the long term is going to require more food.