May 4, 1988
Wade and I have been married 25 years this June and in that time we have moved only once and that was three months into our marriage from my parents’ home to the home where we still live. We had very little then and I wouldn’t even call the event “moving”.
However over the last 25 years we have become experts at the art of moving. We have helped move my sister at least five times, we have assisted my parents two or three times and I have decided to stop counting the number of trips to college dorms we have made.
Our upcoming trip to bring our son home is what prompted this column. This Thursday is the big day and I am so glad there is a meeting I must cover. (That means Wade draws the short straw.) You see only one can go get him because we won’t all fit in the van with his belongings for the return trip.
No matter how much you plan, it never all fits the first time. (Unless you have already given in and rented a U-Haul.) All of this has taught us how to tuck little items in the cracks and crevices, to arrange a car so there is a tunnel to see out the back and we know all the tricks for using the bedding to pad the TV and the stereo. We are pros at maneuvering dressers through narrow doorways and fitting lamps inside dorm refrigerators.
Even with our experience a great deal of time is spent loading and reloading and even more discussing the merits of posters, stuffed animals and other memorabilia. We are not good that this phase as we have yet to get anything out of the car and into the trash.
We have been moving college students for four years now and several years prior were spent taking the younger kids to camps and conferences. But just the time you think you have it all under control they change the game plan. This year Beth got married and we found ourselves helping to move her and her husband into their first apartment.
Now I am very proud of the intellectual abilities of my daughter and son-in-law, however when you can build your furniture out of the books you own I think you need to rethink your lifestyle or take up weightlifting.
“But just think,” I said, “We won’t have to move it all home this year.”
Six months later, over Easter, we were helping them move up the street to another apartment. It wasn’t the one they really wanted, but that was OK they said, if it came available they would move again in the fall! This kid’s been married seven months and has already moved more times than her parents and she’s looking forward to another move.
By the time David finishes school five years from now we should be able to give lessons. Perhaps in our retirement years we should start a little consulting firm on how to move your children from place to place! We could even video tape one of our moves to use as an example – except the audio would probably have to be cut!
GCB