Moving Day Details

Many of you have asked how our move went, and we’ve been too busy to post any details.

Stress. In many respects, this was the most stressful day I can remember in a very, very long time. We were just beginning to recover from the “this deal isn’t going to go through” incident on Wednesday. In addition to juggling two closings, one in Brockton and one in Nashua, Nichelle became very sick on Thursday with a virus, and we got seriously behind schedule on our packing. (One more day would have helped, but it was too late at the time to reschedule for Saturday.)

Great Movers. The movers, Kilroy Brothers, arrived around 8:00 a.m., as promised. I think they were shocked by the level of disarray, but they were absolutely wonderful. They joked with us, gave us boxes (some free), and handled a huge job without complaint. In addition, the price was under $2,000, and that included two trucks. They worked tirelessly and professionally, despite our stress and the size of the task, and their attitudes and good humor made us feel much better.

Closings. We had to take off for the first closing while the movers were still working. The buyers were late, and some documents were missing. The 1/2-hour we were promised turned into 2 hours. The kids were hungry, Nichelle was still sick, and we were wiped. out.

We got back to the house to keep working. My sister Joyce went out to get food for the kids, and get our treasurer’s check for the movers. When it came time to leave for the second closing, just about everything important was on the trucks, and we authorized the movers to work packing anything that looked valuable, and we took off for the second closing. The bank wouldn’t give Joyce was a bank check for us, so I had to stop by Rockland Trust on the way to get the check. When we left, the house was a disaster, but we promised to come back the next day and clean everything out, and we knew the buyers were having deleading done and not moving in right away.

The closing in Nashua went much more smoothly, and took only 38 minutes.

Freezing. It was bitterly cold on Friday, at or below zero, and the upstairs in our new house got down to 38 degrees, while the downstairs dropped low enough for ice to form in the toilet. That added to the fun of moving.

Help from Our Family in Christ. The secretary of our new church (Tabernacle Baptist Church in nearby Litchfield, N.H.) brought us dinner and snacks, and shuttled our family to her house a few minutes away. Because Nichelle was sick and the house was so cold, we accepted their offer to stay overnight at their house. Nichelle and the rest of the family left, while I stayed to finish directing the unloading.

Kim dies. I had been concerned about our reptiles because of the cold, but Isaac’s crested gecko seemed fine, and his cage has a light in it for warmth. When the movers left, and I was waiting for a ride to Lee Ann’s house, I found Nichelle’s iguana Jesse barely reactive, despite being next to the heater. He returned to normal after a few minutes near the pellet stove, and I stuck him inside my jacket.

Then I went to check on Kim. I was horrified to see him stuck to the side of his cage, head hanging over. he was completely unresponsive—no breathing, no reaction to touch. Nothing. I was heartbroken. I called Isaac to break the bad news to him (his response, although he was sad, was, “So, can I get a tarantula?” and afterward sat down in front of the pellet stove with Kim in my outstretched hand, hoping that he was just in deep hibernation, but being certain that was not the case. After about 10 minutes of hopelessness, I thought I saw his leg move. Sure enough, although it took a while, Kim revived, and is doing well. There are a few advantages of being cold-blooded.

Cold and anxious. When we all returned to the house the next morning, it was only 50 degrees, despite leaving the heat on all night (although I did not leave the pellet stove on). It turns out that when a house gets that cold, the walls absorb much of the heat, and it takes a long time to bring it up to temperature. With the stress of moving, my anxiety disorder surfaced, and there are still days when I wake up feeling uneasy. I know this will pass in time.

We love the new house. The new house is wonderful, and has a great open layout. Every day, as we put more things away, it gets a little better.

I still need to tell about Saturday’s adventures, but will have to add that later.