The Big Move Is Over!!!!! About This Page:

[Nick and Ryans Mom]

Tuesday was DS#2’s birthday. It was a crazy/hectic day. Usually a friend of his spends Wednesdays at our house while his mom works but this week her schedule was different so he was happy to have a friend to play with on his birthday. Both boys are in pre-school on MTW from 12-2 and since it was Ry’s birthday I was there as “mommy-helper”. By the end of the two hours my ears were ringing. Twelve four/five year olds put me on sensory over load. After school we hopped in the car to take the Popsicles (snack) home and then we had to return to school to pick-up another friend’s daughter who gets out thirty minutes later. We would have then have less than an hour before we would pick-up DS#1 from his school (drop-off the little girl and pick-up Ry’s friend’s older brother). Then we would have an hour before the big Chuck E Cheese party.

As I am driving home with the Popsicles my cell phone rings. It is MIL. “We need to be out of the house by Thurs at six.”

“What? The house still has not closed. We have six days from closing. We have at least until next Monday.”

“The buyers are insisting we need to be out by Thurs at six.”

“What does your realtor say?”

“Her husband will rent a U-Hall and be here tomorrow.”

“You did not want us to use a U-Hall. You wanted all of your stuff moved in minivans/pickups. You did not want any of your boxes stacked.”

“I think we will need a U-Hall. It’s okay to get one.”

I was completely in a rage. Her realtor, who is a friend of hers has screwed this up from the beginning. I did escrow/mortgage work before DS#1 was born and knew more about the business than this realtor does. The realtor’s husband was DH and his brothers’ old scout master from when they were in scouting. He had a heart attack not too long ago. As if he could really move MIL & FIL.

“Let me talk to Eric and call you back. Don’t worry everything will work out”

I paged DH/Eric twice and never heard from him. I phoned SIL#1 and updated her on the situation. DH got home from work 30 minutes before the Chuck E Cheese party. I told him what was going on and reminded him of our agreement not to upset MIL in anyway during this move. We had agreed when they first decided to move that we would not do anything to add to her mental/emotional anguish during this time.

DH spoke with MIL and told her that he and BIL#1 would take Wens and Thurs off of work and would try to make the deadline. He finally got off the phone and it was time to leave for the party. We piled into my minivan. He had the phone book and his cell phone and rented a U-Hall on the way to the party.

When we got to Chuck E Cheese many of our friends were there with their kids. After a few minutes my best friend said “What’s wrong? I can tell something is wrong.” So I told them about the recent events. Everyone was shocked. I went to talk to the party person about the party. When I got back my friends had worked out a schedule through Saturday to free me up some to help with the move. The party was totally hectic and the kids had a blast.

Wens: Woke up at six. DH and BIL#1 went to get truck at seven and then left to MIL’s house to start. At ten I stuck DS#2 and my friend’s daughter in the van and off we went in search of boxes. Filled the car, fed the kids, took them to school. Went to MIL’s house to pack. My best friend showed up with more boxes. MIL has 50 boxes of just dishes, most of which have been packed for a while. Some of the things she would not let us pack because she might need it later that night: her iron, her sewing kit, 15 pounds of sugar, etc… She is a saver “I might need this one day.” I am a giver “Someone else might need it today, pass it on.” We packed all the boxes we brought (around 40). It was time to get the kids from school. DSIL#1 called me “I’m making sloppy joes for dinner and bringing them to Mrs. A’s (MIL) house. If your kids won’t eat them you better bring your own food.” I said thanks but DSs and I were not going to be there for dinner. It is a school night and DS#1 has homework. DSIL#1 does not have kids, does not like kids. DH got home at ten. The truck was mostly packed. He had taken the back row of seats out of my minivan. All of MIL’s art work was boxed up and in my van.

Thurs: Woke up at six. DH went to MIL’s. The movers are supposed to show up to move the furniture at eight. The walk through on their new house is set for eleven. After I took DS#1 to school I dropped DS#2 off at a friend’s house for a play date. We were still packing stuff up and packing the U-Hall, it was getting very full. At noon I had to leave to take DS#2 to a different friend’s house. At one the U-Hall was at the new house. The movers were still packing furniture into the moving van. My dad called about Friday, it is Grandparent/Special Person day at DS#1’s school. MIL originally was not sure if she would make it because of the move. I told dad MILwas going to go and explained the move had gotten moved up. My dad was upset I had not called him “I would have taken off of work to help.” We had agreed that none of our friends/family would be allowed to take off work to help. That was too much. He said he and my youngest brother would be here at four to help. I had to leave at 3:30 to grab DS#2 and take him to DS#1’s school where they would go home with another friend. They were both very happy about that. My family showed up to help. The guys finished packing the second load at 5:30 and left for the new house. MIL, my stepmom and I went to do the final walk through to make sure nothing was left behind (we had a car full of stuff). MIL dug up some plants (the new owners had said they did not care) while I went to pick-up food. We pulled away at 6:15. We had done it. At seven I left to get my boys and go home for homework, baths, etc..

Fri & Sat: I helped MIL unpack. They have a 2 ½ car garage, filled to the brim with boxes. My friends had arranged six hours on Fri and seven hours Sat (DSs spent the night at their cousin’s house Friday) of free time for me to help. BIL#2 showed up Friday afternoon. He is the laziest slug I have ever seen. After an hour of working he had a headache from the dust. DSIL#2 and their baby had stayed at home, she told me MIL drove her crazy last weekend when they were in town and she wasn’t going to put up with her again. DSIL#1 graced us with her presence for an hour Friday night, she lined one shelf in the kitchen with paper. But come Christmas they will both show up with smiles on their faces and their hands outstretched (FIL & MIL give very generous gifts of money at the holidays).

Today is my first real day at home in almost a week. I have laundry piled high and the house is a wreck. But the move is over !!!