"Our Move" A dramatic work by Jodi Loveland (Derek named it)

Well we are here at our new home settling in now and enjoying having the majority of the stress from our move over. We managed to live through the move although at times I wondered if we would. It was SO stressful!! We have moved 7 times in the last 6 years and this was by far the most stressful and worst move we have ever had.

There was so much to do and so little time, we only got 4 hours of sleep on a good night the week of the move so needless to say on top of everything else we were very tired. We barely got all our boxes packed before the moving truck got to our house—all 132 of them (I know, I inventoried them all just like the professionals I have seen do so many times before). Since we did such a good job packing our stuff Derek teases me and says that now we know what our job can be when he retires—packers. WHATEVER!!!

It was supposed to equal less stress to have contracted a company to load, drive, and unload the truck for us but it only added to it. Although the company was very nice to talk to on the phone the guys that showed up at our house were not easy to work with at all. It seemed that everything they told us on the phone was the opposite of how it really ended up. The loader guy tried to tell us we had 18,000 pounds of household goods. Whatever!!! Last time we moved we had only 7,500. I don’t think 18,000 would have even fit in our house. So he kept telling us that all our stuff wouldn’t fit in his truck. Well he wasn’t a very good packer so he wasted a lot of space and sure enough all our stuff didn’t fit in his truck. So he just left it behind telling us we could buy new when we got to our new house. Needless to say he didn’t have much respect for our stuff. It took them all day to load our stuff. They were slow too. It wouldn’t surprise me if Derek could have loaded the truck all by him self faster then they did. Ah well! We were happy to see them drive away finally but at the same time worried. Besides being very unprofessional they were a bit a “shady” and we wondered if we would ever see our stuff again. So much so that I even took down the license plate of the truck as it drove off and began psychologically preparing myself reminding myself that it was only “stuff” and when I leave this earth I can’t take any of it with me anyway.

Well once our stuff was gone it was time to clean. We had two days to clean the house which I thought would be enough. It would have been too had we not had 10 million other things that we were supposed to be doing too. Poor Derek was running around 90 miles an hour still trying to get his clearing done (his medical records were lost some where on post and he had to track them down) and running lots of other errands. Meanwhile I was up to my elbows in cleaner scrubbing everything. Luckily we had kept our TV and Playstation out so the boys were entertained and cooperated well for the most part. Of course T kept finding ways to slow our progress though. We almost had to rush him to the ER when he sprayed cleaner all over in his eyes. But we got it all cleaned out and he doesn’t seem to have any problems. Anyway, we got down to the last night and things weren’t looking too bad. But then Derek had to go to a Hail and Farewell for work—his farewell, mind you. It ended up being 4 hours long. So he was gone all evening and didn’t get home until about 10:30 pm. Once he got home we still had to pack the vehicles and finish the cleaning. Well that wouldn’t have been too bad if the movers hadn’t left us with so much extra stuff to carry. So Derek and I spent half the night out in our drive way trying to figure out how to fit everything in his truck and my van. We were packed to the brim by the time we got done but we got it all in. Then we spent the other half of the night finishing the cleaning. We finally laid down and took an hour nap before it was time to get up again. Wow how did I ever manage to work graveyard shifts?!

Our housing inspection was set to be sometime between 9:00 and 10:30 Friday morning. Nothing like giving us an exact time! So we hurried and got ready only to wait around until 10:00 for them to get there. But the inspection went well. Whew!! The guy was quite impressed with how clean the house was and the shape it was in considering how long we had lived there and the fact that we had three small children and a dog. That made me feel good. Oh and for those of you who remember our food coloring miss-hap with the carpet and are wondering about that—it went fine. After trying everything I could think of on the stains and nothing worked I gave up and decided to try one of the suggestions I found on the internet. It said that when nothing works hope that the sunshine will fade it. So I opened the blinds everyday and said to myself, “Shine in sunlight!” That it did, and fade it did (good thing we didn’t live in Fort Lewis anymore that never would have worked). When we left there were only a couple little spots in the doorway that remained. The inspector never said anything about them so I didn’t either. At least one thing went well!

Well after the inspection the boys and I camped out at the neighbors while Derek ran around to do his final clearing. We were originally hoping to leave at noon. Well we didn’t get to leave until 2:30 in the afternoon. Derek and I were hoping we would even make it, remember we only got one hour of sleep the night before. But we were so ready to go and at that point we were kind of homeless. We knew that our new home was waiting for us and it was only a 5 hour drive so off we went.

When we left our house it was gray and slightly overcast. As we drove, the farther we got away the sunnier it got. After about 200 miles or so it became a beautiful sunny evening. Derek commented and said it was symbolic of leaving the darkness and entering the light. He never liked at any of his time at our last base and didn’t enjoy any of his assignments. So he considers it a “dark” time of his career and he more than any of us looks forward to this change. I on the other hand didn’t realize how much I would miss the area until we drove away. At that point even the thought of never going to our “ghetto” Wal-Mart again was a little sad (it was a scary place that I wasn’t even allowed to go to after dark as people were mugged in the parking lot).

The trip actually went well. Although it’s only a 5 hour drive normally we made it in 7 ½ since we had to stop for lots of “rest stops.” We were excited to get our new house and get to bed. I’m not sure if an air mattress ever felt so good. Even the boys were excited to see theirs.

Our stuff was supposed to be delivered on Monday. They had originally said they would be here in the morning. By 10:30 am they still hadn’t showed up so Derek called them. They assured us they were coming and would be there in the afternoon. Well they finally showed up at 5:30 pm. It was the same guys and they were just as hard to work with as ever. They insisted that all the boxes go in our garage and all they were moving into the house was the furniture. Then they conveniently put the Bowlfex in the garage behind all the boxes I’m sure in hopes that they wouldn’t have to carry it in and up the stairs. I was mad so I made Derek move all the boxes and make them move it. Then they had the audacity to ask me for a tip before they left. Whatever!! Never, never, NEVER use authorizedmovers.com for anything!!! But anyways, our stuff did eventually arrive. All our furniture is scratched, nicked, and messed up a little but at least we have it and for the most part it still works. We only lost one thing, a plastic set of drawers. Who knows where the movers lost that. Luckily we replaced them at Wal-Mart for only $15.

We had a couple guys from our ward at church that came over and helped Derek carry all the boxes in the house. It was so nice of them to help and so nice that poor Derek didn’t have to carry them all himself. We have a great ward! The people are so friendly. I’m not sure if I have ever been in such a friendly ward. We were greeted right as we came in the door and by the end of church we were invited over to Brian’s primary teacher’s house for smores that evening. It was great fun and we are happy to be here. So far we really like the area but we haven’t been anywhere but within a 3 mile radius of our house. But hey, if everything I need is in that radius then that’s awesome! Our neighbors are all very nice and even welcomed us with a plate of cookies. There is a boy next door Brian’s age and they have become fast friends in part thanks to the playstation. Brian is excited to have someone to play with and his friend is excited to get to play. So it works out well.

We are getting settled in. We have spent the last week unpacking boxes and we have made a lot of progress. I had to tease Derek and let him know that it sure was easier to get the boxes unpacked when he was around. He deployed shortly after we moved last time and I was left to unpack most of the boxes myself. So it was a much slower process. I’m sure it was also slower because I had a 6 month old baby and not having packed the boxes myself who knew what was in them until they were opened. At least that’s one nice thing about having packed my own boxes, I know where everything is and when I want something and its lost I consult my inventory list, find what I want, look up the box number and then go find the box. It has worked quite well.

Now this week Derek is working on in-processing and trying to figure out where he is supposed to be and what he is supposed to be doing. He starts his school on the 18th of August. Life is slowly settling back down for us and we are looking forward to our new lives here. They say that life is like a roller coaster with many ups and downs. Lately it seems like we have been riding the loopdy-loops. But we are strapped in for the ride and look forward to what lies around the next turn.