Moving Prep - Phase IV: Clean 'Em Up and Head 'Em Out

Returning to the Packing phase for a second -- Here are some photos I finally downloaded from my camera:

Fun with boxes

Holy-Moley, that's a lot of boxes!

I am sure you've been in suspense to know how the rest of the move unfolded. Now that the truck was loaded, this was the plan: wake up early and go to the condo for final cleaning, touch-up painting and laying the thresholds on the laminate floors Michael installed. Have all this completed by noon. Final goodbyes and hit the road.

But plans are just ideal guidelines.... right?

Super Angie to the rescue

We were all over at the condo by 9am to get started on the final clean-up. My friends Christie and Sarah came over to help, and though I had 18 different tasks in my head to complete I couldn’t seem to assign anyone anything. Thank goodness for Christie who took charge while I was a scattered mess: Sarah cleaned the refrigerator, Christie swept and assembled trash and truck piles, I touched up paint, and Angie cleaned random things here and there. Michael had gone to my parents’ house for the proper tools to finish the thresholds. We were set on our 12pm departure.

Then Michael called:

“What insurance do we have?”

Uh-oh. Did he get in a car accident the day we are leaving Florida??!?

“Do we have Aetna?

What? No, that’s health insurance not car insurance…. 

“WHAT HAPPENED???!?”

Turns out while using my father’s planer to trim the thresholds, his left middle finger hit the blade and he lost part of the fleshy pad. He needed medical attention! He drove himself to Urgent Care and Christie met him there to give him his insurance card. In retrospect, while she was out, we should have had her bring us to pick up a car. By the time my friends left around noon, Angie, Adam and I were stranded at the empty apartment with a big moving truck and no car seat… for two more hours. 

Angie set about entertaining Adam (which wasn't easy in an empty apartment) while I continued to find things to clean and improve while we waited. And waited. 

Finally Michael was back by 3 and we still had some final things to load before we could hit the road. He didn't get stitches as there was nothing to stitch. Instead he has a foam piece adhered to the wound that will eventually fall off once the skin underneath grows in and heals. I'll spare you a photo but honestly, I expected it to look much worse.

Leaving our unit was bittersweet. We are super excited about our move, but this was our home for 6+ years -- a home that saw us get engaged, married, and bring home a baby. I walked around thinking how nice and clean it all looked -- and big. I thought to myself, "I'd rent this place!"

Finally, by 5pm we were on our way to Jacksonville. We were only 5 hours behind schedule. We stayed a night with Michael's sister and family, then by 8am the next morning we were on our way again, bound for Kentucky.

Angie and I took Adam in our car, and Michael drove the truck with his Mom, who we picked up in Jacksonville. I couldn't have managed the drive so well without Angie helping entertain Adam. He loves his Aunt Angie, and they have all sorts of fun little games they play together. By the time we hit the Tennessee line Angie was in the driver's seat and I was singing songs to Adam when he looked at me and did his sign language to tell me "All Done, Mommy." Guess this kid was ready to be there!

Twelve hours later we arrived in Georgetown for the night. Our drive was much more comfortable than Michael's in the truck. Not only did he have a completely upright bench seat, a throbbing finger, and a 30 mph pace on the mountain climbs, the truck nearly overheated and he had to open the windows and crank the heat for the last hour or so. You can probably gauge his mood by the time he arrived.

Tomorrow was move-in day, and while we were all exhausted, we were fortunate to have so many wonderful, rested family and friends come out to help us unload. The rest of the move-in went so smoothly, and we finally met the owners who were wonderful. Special thanks to Dave, Rich, Josh, Matthew, and Dad for all your hard work and strong muscles, and to the Moms and Kim for helping us unpack and settle in so quickly. Very soon I will have to take pictures and give you a "tour." But for now, I"m happy to say We're Home.