The Move that Wouldn't Die

On Friday of last week, April 29, we moved my mother to a lovely new house in a senior living community.  I naively believed that the move would take a couple of days and that there would be issues spilling over in to the first of the week, like getting the Internet set up, etc.  I was wrong.

Friday and Saturday were great days.  We hired some of the best movers ever! They moved everything from house to house.  They even brought down furniture from the upstairs that was not going to the new house, so that we could get it more easily.  They put the furniture where my mother wanted it, and then moved it without complaint when she didn't like it in that spot.  (She is still deciding and moving furniture.)  

Also on Friday and Saturday, we had a steady stream of new neighbors welcoming us all to the community.  All of them brought gifts, from roses to supper Friday night, to cleaning supplies.  I know she is going to love it there once she is through the transition.

Moving was hard on all of us physically and emotionally.  We all had our turns crying and just needing a time out.  We all worked together well.  No one seemed to get upset when one of us took  a break.  It was still hard - just plain hard.

Having moved into her house about 55 years ago, my mother had no idea when she should call to get the utilities transferred.  We did all that on Monday after the move.  Everything was still in Daddy's name, while the various folks were kind and made the transfers, it was hard.  (We did have one issue with the water company but I won't get into that!)  

The new owner put in the contract that we had until May 10 to remove everything from the old house.  Anything left after that date, would become their property.  Prior to the move, various ones of us had been given pieces of furniture she no longer needed or wanted.  All of those and most of the items in Daddy's shed were left.  We thought we'd gather them up this week and easily meet the May 10 deadline.

Life doesn't always go as planned.  A lot of the furniture is still there and most of the contents of the shed are still there.  We are giving it one last push on Saturday.  The plan now is for everyone to get what they can and take it home.  Since 65MD and I are closest to the old house, we'll bring all the leftovers to our house for folks to claim later.  I'm hoping that is a good idea and we aren't left holding a lot of stuff for a long time.  We might also decide that the new owner would enjoy some of those items!

My younger sister and niece have already gone home.  They stayed at the new place with my mother which helped with the transition immensely.   It feels strange to all of us.  I'm used to her being 2 1/2 miles away.  I could be over there in mere minutes in an emergency.  Now, she is 15 miles away.  On a good day, it will take 20 minutes.  I feel as though I've lost my bearings somehow.  

I understand that I'm going through a grieving process.  It will just take time to work through it.  I think we will all be happier in the end.