I knew it would be hard.
I just didn’t realize how hard.
I prepared everyone for the move. It was to happen over the Thanksgiving break; the boys would be at hunting camp and the girls intended to be somewhere else. The whole idea of breaking up the family wasn’t one that any of the children were ready to accept, and they were quite vocal about it. I knew that in the long run, they would realize that it was the only thing I could do.
We agreed that I was only taking the furniture I had inherited from my parents; a few tables, some lamps, a lovely cabinet my mother had discovered at the Goodwill and an old secretary that my sister had given me many years earlier.
I decided to leave the bed.
Word spread like wildfire at work that I was searching for box springs, mattresses and other things I needed to make this house a home. Before I knew it I was deluged with offers from amazing friends who had “items” that they no longer needed. My brain was even more scattered than normal, and I wasn’t sure exactly what would be landing on my doorstep, but I was both thankful and hopeful.
My sister made the trip down the day after Thanksgiving. We spent all of Saturday packing anything and everything that I thought I would need, keeping in mind that the children had chosen to stay with their father. (That’s another post entirely.)
“Mom, we don’t know if you’ll be there for a month and have to move again, or not. We’ll be going back to school and won’t be spending much time here anyway. It’s best just to leave our stuff here. And you know Golden Boy won’t leave Dad.”
And so, in an effort to listen to my head instead of my heart, I concurred. It broke my heart, but I concurred.
My incredible sister and I packed boxes, loaded the cars, drove, carried them into the new house and went back for more. It continued like this for most of the day. When we thought we had the essentials, we were off to get a few bed frames, a rug, and food.
She had to leave the next morning, and wouldn’t be there for the official move. We did, however, accomplish more in one day than I ever imagined we would.
My best friend’s husband, a generous man and a great friend indeed, procured a truck from his business and they came to my house early that Sunday morning. Another strong fella from school showed up, along with one of our amazing secretaries. They loaded up the furniture in the truck, we threw the remaining boxes in various cars and were ready to leave.
I looked at the house and felt the pangs of my broken heart. I looked at the home that held my hopes and dreams for many years, and I cried.
I crawled into my car and followed the truck – for we had many other stops to make before reached the home that I was entrusting with my new hopes and dreams.
I wiped my eyes and took a deep breath as I pulled out of the driveway.
It was going to be a long day, indeed.
