Moving

This past week was completely and totally consumed by our very first real move as a family.

I clarify "real" move because our last move three years ago was over two buildings and across a couple parking lots. During that relocation we didn't box a single item, nor did we get a moving truck. Our possessions were carried by hand from one place to the other. A charitable neighbor offered their mini-SUV to cart the furniture and that was it.

This move was a completely different beast.

Fresh off returning from our adventure in Iowa/Illinois we greeted our friends and former neighbors the Billman's (Eric, Betsey, and their son Sam) to stay at our house for a few days. They had just barely relocated themselves to Provo a week earlier but were back so that Eric could tie up some loose ends at his work.

Betsy helped Amber begin the arduous task of collecting our belongings into boxes and wrapping the fragiles to protect them during transit. This task encompassed the entire week, but it was done right as I did very little. Amber smartly labeled each box with a destination as to allow for easy placement once at the house. We found that this also led to easier retrieval of things when unpacking.

Wednesday morning, while I was attaching face plates to all the network outlets I had installed a few months earlier, we received the news that the house was ready for occupancy. With 24 hours to prepare, Amber reserved a truck and we planned on loading up after work on Thursday.

With the help from a few of our neighbors I began to pack the truck around 5pm. It didn't take long to realize we would need to be taking more than one load. When the first load was pilled in one of the neighbors, Richard, said that he would ride in the back to make sure nothing would fall. We all laughed and prepared to make the drive over, but as we waited for him to jump out of the back of the truck so that I could close the door he reiterated that he wanted to ride with all the stuff. Seeing that he was serious I went ahead and pulled the door down and latched it shut with Richard inside.

Arriving at the house, following the 1.5 mile drive, we opened the back door and found Richard smiling and explaining how the truck road differently from the back as opposed to the cab. We unloaded, meeting some nice new neighbors who jumped in to lend a hand, and were back at the old apartment for the second load before we knew it.

When the second load was finally inside the house it was well after 9pm. I called in some pizza as Amber started on unpacking the kitchen and I put our bed together - with the help of our friend Joe Little - so that we would have a place to sleep. Our windows had no coverings, as far as blinds or curtains, but we were too tired to care. We slept in a fish bowl that night and were just glad to get the needed rest.

We awoke to the familiar sounds of Ashley making her morning noises and to the sun beaming through our naked windows. I put in a half day's work before returning to the old apartment to help Amber clean. I also took another truck load of random items - such as barbecue grills and bikes - to the house.

With Joe's help, I returned the truck and went back to the apartment to finish the cleaning. With even more smaller random items we filled our four door sedan which we carted to the house once the cleaning was complete. All that was left in the apartment was the vacuum and a rug that wouldn't fit in the car.

After unloading the car, and dropping Amber and Ashley off at the house, I went back to retrieve the vacuum and rug. Even though I knew the place was clear of evidence that we had lived their I found myself walking through each room one final time briefly thinking about the previous three years.

Shutting the door behind me one last time at the apartment brought the thought of a life chapter - a section of life that can be characterized by sitting between two major events - was definitively ending.

It's now time to turn the page and begin writing a new chapter in a new town, in a new neighborhood, inside our new house.