Moving Happens

I am on a Yahoo list that discusses moving frequently, because it is a military group, and we all know what the military does- it moves. Recently, we've been talking about 'funny' stories. You know, the ones involving kid happenings right before or during moves.

I don't have any of those stories, but I have my share of stories. After all, in twelve years of marriage, we've moved ten times. We have lived in this house longer than we've ever lived anywhere else- 2 ½ years. When we reach our 3 year mark, it will mark the longest we've ever lived in one state. And, it looks like we're here to stay. But, oh, the stories I could tell you...

Our first move, we didn't have much. The movers insisted on unpacking the boxes that had been packed in Greece. I, being an ignorant 20-year-old, let them. They unpacked those boxes and piled everything in the middle of the living room floor. That was not the best way for a brand new mom to move into her first house.

Our second move consisted of moving from one rental to another. That one was fun. We did it in the middle of a hurricane. Isn't that fun?

Our third move was wonderful. We bought a townhouse and, since it was only a couple miles from our rent house, we slowly moved into it, over the course of a month.

Our fourth move was organized. I took my time packing, writing down every single thing I packed into the boxes. It definitely made unpacking easier. And, mystified all the guys helping us load the truck. I also got my very pregnant self up in the back of that moving truck and organized it so that everything would fit. You should have seen the way that truck swayed as my father-in-law drove it down the road. Scary!

Our fifth, sixth, and seventh moves are unremarkable, other than to mention that Gary was deployed for the fifth and seventh moves, and I was pregnant for the seventh move. The eighth is hardly worth mentioning, except that it happened one week after Dominic was born, and I was packing boxes within a day of him being born. Plus, Gary, Gabriel and Gary's dad went golfing after the move, and Gabriel hit Gary in the chin with a club, giving Gary another manly scar.

The ninth move was remarkable for three reasons. We moved from Cape Cod, MA to Washington, DC. Gary had to leave before we were ready to move. So, I conceded to allow other people to move us. I could give you a lot of http://www.melrosemoving.com/moving_tips.html”>moving advice about watching movers, making sure you empty the trash can before they get there so that they don't pack the trash, etc, but my movers were outstanding. It's a good thing, because I really don't like having other people move me. I'm too picky. The third, and most significant reason it was remarkable is that we had a blizzard shortly before we moved. That's right folks. We had the worst storm Cape Cod had seen in 25 years, less than three weeks before we moved. That meant that we had to dig our way out to our storage shed through four feet of snow. It meant that we had to dig up our swingset. Good times.

Our tenth, and last, move was a good and bad one. We decided to pack ourselves, and load the goods onto a truck that someone else would drive. I think this was the best solution, so far. We most of the goods all loaded, when my mom called to tell me that they weren't going to let my dad leave the hospital. I promptly dropped everything and got online to get airplane tickets for the boys and I to fly to Oklahoma. That night, while I cried, Gary and I finished loading the truck. We got to the hotel at about 10. The next morning, Gary put the boys and me on a plane bound for Oklahoma. We got there on Saturday morning, and my dad died early Sunday morning. Gary got there on Tuesday, after driving our partial-dity to Kentucky. We called the truck company and asked that they store our goods for a few weeks. We called our realtor and asked that our closing date get pushed back. Everyone bent over backward to help us. When we arrived two weeks later, we closed on our house and moved in. The truck company delivered our goods the next day. It was a trying time, but if we had been driving that moving truck ourselves, it would have been much, much worse.

So, for the record, I would say that we have had pretty good moving stories. We have lost a few things, but that is normal, and none of them have been irreplaceable family heirlooms. We're not done moving. Hopefully, our next move will be to a homestead. Then, we will probably be done. Too bad. My grandmother always said, “Five moves equals a burnout. You should move every five years.” I think I've got some of her wandering blood coursing through me.

This post paid for by Los Angeles Local Movers.  You can call 1-800-431-3920 for a free quote.
Moving Companies Los Angeles