A Moving Experience

The last few weeks have been extremely hectic. We've had to make sure bills are paid, services are discontinued, mail is forwarded, and a thousand other details. Mostly, we've had to pack boxes -- dozens and dozens of boxes! And we've fill our trash barrel (and those of our neighbors) many times over. Multiple trips were made to the waste transfer station, as well. There were also many things to put in order -- when something was moved there were often cobwebs hiding behind, and occasionally a nail hole or scrape that needed a bit of touch-up paint.

All came to culmination on Tuesday. The movers were there a little after 8, and finished before noon. It doesn't take them long to load a truck! Then they were off to unload our worldly goods into a climate-controlled warehouse, while we were left behind to clean, and clean, and clean. By mid-afternoon we finally had our two cars loaded with the last items to go to self-storage, and the suitcases we'll be living out of for the next year. We arrived in Decorah late afternoon or early evening to unload and catch a bite to eat, then on to the Twin Cities.

It was "a dark and stormy night" as we drove through Minnesota. We arrived at our daughter's and son-in-law's home about 9:30 p.m. and promptly crashed. It was actually the first full night's sleep we've had in weeks. Now that all was out of our hands, we could finally rest without waking at 2 a.m. to worry about what we had forgotten.

A good share of the next day was spent arranging to get rid of our cars. We didn't get quite as much for them as we'd hoped, but the proceeds have already gone to a few of our favorite charities. We also enjoyed a couple of nice meals out, as we always do when in the Cities. Our daughter dropped us at the airport Thursday afternoon, and we lifted off from MSP, likely not to return for a year.