Moving update

Today was a big day, but it’s been a ride getting here. An immense amount of effort has been expended by us, and by our cherished friends on our behalf. Last Wednesday, Jen and I had packed up a goodly portion of the house into boxes. That evening, Matt, Jeff & Jen, Leif & Amedee, and Eric & Jen came over. Matt used his resourcefulness to fetch a stack of boxes and everybody pitched in and filled ’em.

On Thursday morning, our truck arrived. Six phone calls later, I got permission from the City of Cadillac to park the tractor trailer (that was already there) on the street in front of my house. I worked all afternoon to pack about 3 feet of the truck. That evening, Eric and Matt showed up and hauled all of the packed stuff out to the truck, as fast I as could find places for it. More was accomplished in a few hours than I had all day.

My best friend, Michael Surls came up from Marshall on Friday. That afternoon we fetched all the building supplies we’d need to give the patio a face lift and trim out the upstairs. By Saturday evening I had the entire upstairs all trimmed out while Michael & Daniel demolished the patio and prepared it for it’s new skin. Deb & Jen continued packing, caring for Kayla, and keeping the men nourished.

On Sunday, work on the patio resumed. We disassembled the DS3 rack and removed it (a sad day). Amedee came over and did a fantastic job of cleaning the basement. I’ll simply say that her standards are higher than mine, and it shows. Later, Jeff & Jen and Eric & Jen came by and helped some more. Eric and I went to town on the patio while everyone else packed. Eric worked like a man on a mission and by 11 we had the patio done and started loading the truck.

We weren’t certain when the trailer would be picked up (scheduled for mid-morning) so I planned to work through the night to get it all loaded. Fortunately, Jeff & Eric helped out and around 2AM, the truck was loaded. The question of the day was Jeff’s: “So Matt, how’s it feel to pack 30 years of your life into 19 feet?”

After we were “done”, I found several other items to load. I set them aside for the morning. At 7:30 Jen woke me. I loaded the other items onto the truck and then prepared to fetch Kevin’s truck to haul all the construction debris to the dump. Martha & Greg intervened. I went and re-wired their newly renovated store and tomorrow, a fellow will come and haul away all my trash.

Jeff & Jen came by again and caulked the trim I had installed. What a difference a $2 tube of painters caulk makes when used by a pro. I cleaned out the garage, piled up all the debris for the trailer, carpeted the stairs & landing, and other little things. Finally, at 9PM, we stopped and went out to watch a movie. It was my first real “break” of the day and two hours sitting down felt wonderful. That would not have been possible without the help of our friends.

Tuesday, we have a few more loose ends to tie up, a few construction projects to finish, and then spending time with friends during the evening. Then, we’re on the road for two days, arriving in Texas late on Thursday evening.

It’s late, I must sleep now. I hope I haven’t slighted anyone’s contribution. I’m tired and short of time, but I wanted to vocalize our friends have been an incredible blessing to us. By far, the hardest part of leaving is those we leave behind. We will miss you all very much.