With only three weeks to close, we decided (of course) to go to an airshow that weekend. It was at Jefferson County Airport and we had a ton of fun with airplanes, fire trucks, ambulances, and all sorts of fun stuff. Then, we went hiking in Boulder. The next week I didn't really feel like packing. Who does, anyway? We were busy having fun. That next weekend-- we went camping up in Wyoming. Yup, can you say procrastination?
So on Monday morning I finally tried to be realistic. It was now June 16th, 10 days from closing. I had a full house full of junk, a basement full of junk, a yard full of junk, and a storage locker (you guessed it) full of junk. Maybe it was time to start packing? (Duh!) So I began, packing what I could when the kids were awake and working like crazy moving boxes during naptime and when I had help watching the twins.
As the week wore on, I realized two things: First, I could use a little help as we needed to get a LOT done this last weekend. Second, wow, we owned a TON of stuff. I began throwing things away right and left. Mike emptied out the storage locker into our backyard and garage. I disassembled my prized workbench (it's such a behemoth it can't be even shoved once it's assembled) and began stacking boxes in the garage. Aunt Karen volunteered to come out for the second time in a month to help pack for the weekend, and Matt and his girlfriend Angie volunteered to come out and help us load the truck and drive back. Things were coming together. I even managed to entertain the twins in the backyard with new toys: a kayak and a windsurfer.
Aunt Karen arrived and saw what I had done in just four days; I had organized and boxed up most of the bedrooms, the bathrooms, all the closets, the living room, the books, and the basement. Only the garage and kitchen to go! "Wow. You got a lot done. What do you want me to do?" asked Karen, wondering exactly why she flew out to help. "The Kitchen, " I said, "I've been avoiding it." Karen looked at it skeptically. I could see her calculating about two, maybe four hours tops to carefully pack the kitchen. I had a fuzzy recollection of endless packing of kitchen items when we moved from California, but I like the optimist approach. I thought, cool, she must be right and we'll be hiking by evening.
The day packing stretched on. Evening came, then the next morning. The next afternoon. Wow. Where did all this stuff come from? I get discouraged and decide to pack the garage for a break. Mike tries to pack in the kitchen. Evening comes again. I get done packing the whole garage. I sneak back inside. Unfortunately, they are still packing the kitchen. Karen now understands, I have a LOT of junk in my kitchen.
Eventually, we call it good enough for now. We're out of boxes. Time to go hiking. After all I need to leave a couple dishes out. Next week I've planned two dinner parties before we close on Thursday, against the prudent advice of everyone I've talked to. I don't care, I think it will be fun to have the my friends over, and anyhow, I'm nuts! My husband agrees. ;)
(Biscuit supervising the packing)
(Sam in the midst of a really big mess)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment