Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Minimalist, schminimalist…


The art of packing.  I wrote in my earlier blog that I spent 3 months packing. I worked diligently to wrap each breakable item, carefully stowing each piece, labeling every box with its correct contents and marking each in order of necessity. Pod 1 holding basic items: beds, bedding, towels, dishes, glassware, sofa, chairs, tables. Pod 2 less necessary items: kitchen equipment, art, decorative items. Pod 3 held winter clothes, outdoor furniture, garage equipment, Christmas decorations and things I wasn’t sure I would be able to use, but wasn’t quite ready to let go of. My boxes were color coded and marked Pods 1-3. I was quite proud of my packing endeavors and when moving day came, I was ready.

Prior to moving day, I had movers take a load of furniture to Brooke’s home and then continue to Austin, stopping at both Brent’s and Lynn’s house. I was delighted the kids wanted items I could no longer use and was happy to send them off to good homes. I made friends with my two capable and kind movers and requested Demetrius and “Jo Lynn” for my next five moves. Ridiculous, I know, but staggered moves were necessary for pod storage and delivery and for city ordinance reasons. 

A little humor is a necessity. “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” Robert Burns was one savvy guy to write these words, I wonder if he had tried my “art of packing”? Demetrius and “Jo Lynn” tried their best to fit all my earthly belongings into 2 pods so that it would be unnecessary for me to pay for a third pod. They quickly persuaded me to disregard my color coded method and decided to just start stuffing my stuff into the pods. They carefully positioned boxes and furniture as if they were placing pieces into a gigantic jigsaw puzzle. Try as they might, by the end of Moving Day 2, there were still lots of puzzle pieces left and no puzzle for them to fit. As a result, a third pod was needed, but now, Pod 1 had winter clothes, Pod 2 had Christmas decorations and Pod 3 had dishes, sheets and summer clothes. Humor was definitely needed.

By the end of this hot sweaty moving day, Demetrius, “Jo Lynn” and I had become besties. Writing down their names and contact information in case I needed further help, I realized “Jo Lynn” was actually Julius. Whaat?! How embarrassing. His response was that he simply didn’t have the heart to correct me and was a little embarrassed that I thought his mother had actually named him Jo Lynn. Necessary humor.

When the day finally came for Pod 1 delivery, Demetrius and Julius were ready. Working hard they would read my carefully labeled boxes and ask, “Which way to the office?” Looking a bit sheepish, I replied, “There is no office, maybe stack them in the guest room.” More boxes would surface and D & J would ask, “Where is your utility room?” Oops, I have only a closet for my washer/dryer, no utility room. A little side note here, not even my brand new stackable washer/dryer fit into my new laundry closet (but that’s horror story for another time). The “Utility” boxes were also stacked in the very small guest bedroom. The “humor” continued, ”Storage Room?” Not yet built. “Garage?” Still under construction. Of course, it didn’t take long for the spare room to fill and boxes began being stacked wherever there was an inch of floor space, my house became a maze with only narrow passages to navigate. D & J kept up their unloading pace, yet I could hear them under their breath, “Oh man, poor old girl has 2 more big ole pods to go, what’s she gonna do with all this stuff?” Gotta laugh. Necessary humor.


My well-intentioned pod staging for delivery on Friday, then Tuesday and the following Friday also fell by the wayside. Remember, San Antonio was having rare monsoon weather for August and the rains continued throughout the next few weeks. Not only was my house still being remodeled, but the storage room that was to be built behind the garage, the garage itself, as well as a new driveway were unable to be constructed. 

Picture this, my 80+ year old home has a very old, lumpy asphalt driveway. The excessive rain caused flowing bodies of muddy water to form on both sides of my drive, which now looked more like a pitiful island, standing alone in the midst of the Gulf of Mexico. Normally this wouldn’t have been a problem, as I could have sloshed my way to my car, mud and all, however the pod people ignored the asphalt on my lumpy old driveway. They surreptitiously managed to get Pod 1 stuck firmly in my off driveway mud puddle, hence hindering the pod people from removing Pod 1, nor able to deliver Pods 2-3. The rains continued. I sat with an empty Pod 1 in my driveway for the next 10 days while the San Antonio Aquifer continued to rise, along with the mud surrounding my asphalt jungle. Humor, lots of humor.

Let me cut short this ongoing saga, (yes, there was saga, so much more) by stating that about two weeks later all pods had been delivered, emptied and removed. Now, three weeks later, my last boxes have been hauled off, pictures hung, rugs laid, my storage room is complete, Rubbermaid tubs are labeled and filled and now line the walls of my storage room. 



My driveway, garage, patio and exterior redo is still a work in progress . This process will take some time until completion, but I’m good with waiting now that my stuff is now in place. My little house has quickly become my home thanks to the help of Brooke, Jared, Cindy, Gloria, Bernado and Kris. It takes a village and I live in a great one.


On being a minimalist. Well, that’s most likely not happening. Almost every item in those three large pods has found its place in my small home. I have decided minimalism is simply not in my DNA. Why try to be something I wasn’t born to be?

So come for a visit, I welcome each of you. My new address: 214 Castano Avenue, San Antonio, TX 78209. I’m home and I’ll keep the light on for you!

For what it’s worth,
Janet

Proverbs 24:3-4 “By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; and by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.”