Packing and Atlanta

Monday, June 28, 2010
Tuesday was my birthday, and in celebration, we loaded the storage unit and left LaPlace for good. Not much of a birthday, but I chose it – I wanted to leave Tuesday evening for Atlanta and the birthday gathering, and in order to do that, we had to work all day to finish up.

Tuesday morning I got my last perm. Judy cried; I did not. I’m too happy to be going to be sad at leaving friends behind. Moving afternoon was hell. About 12:30, we picked up the truck and loaded the first truck with what we thought was most of the things, then moved them into the unit and began arranging things. When we went back for the final stuff, which we thought would be about a half-load, it entirely filled the truck again and the car as well! And as we left, we discovered the bicycles on the back porch, and we didn’t have room for them! We took that stuff down to the unit and evaluated the situation. I told Roger I thought that, if he took the love seat out (we already gave up the sofa because a spring escaped out the back of it), that we could get it all in. So Roger left to take the love seat back, pick up the bikes, then take the truck back. We were pushing 5:00 by this time. He had to leave some of the stuff sitting outside in the sun and lots more lining the hall. I took the cart back to the office just before 5:00 and alerted the manager there that we would be leaving some stuff temporarily both outside and in the hall while I ran over to pick up Roger. When she learned that I was only going to the U-Haul place, she said it would be no problem. We grabbed a drink from Sonic and came back. It took us another full hour to get the stuff in, but we made it. We even had a couple of square feet of floor space and several cubic feet of upper space!

Exhausted, we scored sandwiches and tea from Subway and returned to the house to eat on the patio, as it contained the only chairs in the house! We began packing the remaining stuff for Atlanta. Some of it we had already packed into suitcases, but lots of it was still loose, so we franticly stuffed things into baskets, suitcases, bags and whatever, and loaded the car. Part of the cargo was 8 pillows for Alicia. Roger used two of them to protect the flat-screen TV we are loaning Alicia and Peter. When the car was almost packed, we paused to shower and dress, then drove over to Slidell to spend the night with Pam and Ronald. We were almost too tired to be civil to them – not that we were uncivil, but we almost fell asleep on the couch before declaring bedtime.

Wednesday morning we got up and ate a lovely breakfast at Pam’s. Ronald had already left for work. They are so sweet to have opened their house to us for the night. Actually, we had planned to take them out for dinner Tuesday night, but we didn’t get to their house until 9:00 p.m. We badly underestimated the amount of time it would take us to pack the unit. But the victory is that we got it all in!

After coffee and English muffins with Pam, we left on the drive to Atlanta. Uneventful but long. Shelli and Ronnie were already there, as well as Christa, Aaron and Sarah from Grand Prairie. Eric drove in later, having had a 12-hour drive from Dallas.

The next several days are a blur. Thursday morning we went to see 3-year-old Evelyn and her mother Kim. Evelyn slept through the whole visit! But we got to see her really neat computer designed for her special needs. I think it must have really opened up her world because it allows her to communicate with the rest of the world when she couldn’t before. She has a rare condition called Aicardi Syndrome, a disorder in which the structure that connects the two sides of the brain is partly or completely missing. Bummer! Kim is really sweet and incredibly patient!

In the afternoon we relaxed and napped. I pulled my back in the moving/packing process and it left me really exhausted. That evening much of the group went to a bar to hear a band. Roger and I stayed home and baby-sat Sarah and Lillian. Lots of fun, but Sarah had a nap and didn’t want to go to sleep!

Friday night – iron pour. Interesting. I forwent a tile and got a massage instead. Made my back feel a bit better. We finally left the iron pour about 1:30 a.m. – didn’t get to bed until after 2:00.

Saturday – pool party at Ethan and Becky’s, with fabulous grilled stuffed tenderloin stuffed and cooked by Lillian’s parents, Caryn and Jon. Really, really good food. Great job, guys! Also Alicia’s roasted vegetables, sweet potato casserole, Irish potato casserole, birthday cake, delicious ice cream (chocolicious flavor), drinks. We old people took the young person back to the house about 4:00, as we were still short of sleep from the iron pour. I bought a two-pack of Therma Care and put one on my back about noon. I had to forego swimming, but it really made my back feel better. I put a second one on Sunday and by Monday, my back was almost well.

Sunday we purged my France wardrobe, made a list, and went shopping. I bought two pairs of jeans, a pair of black slacks, and got fitted for a bra. Bought only one. I can’t bring myself to spend $100 or more on a bra. One of the questions on the questionnaire was “do you think a bra can change your life?” My answer is a definitive and resounding “NO!” But I do understand that there are women out there for whom a well-fitting bra can change their lives. I am not that well-endowed! The change I am making is going bra-less a lot!!!!

Today we worked all day to sell the car. We had really hoped to get $6,500 for it, and settled for $6,000, but we were glad to have it done. Monday evening we had dinner at Taquero’s with Alicia, Peter and Eric. Nice time, good food. Then home and to bed. We are exhausted again – too much food, too little exercise, too many late nights, too few naps!