I'm Home

Though our move was to officially take place Saturday, we had a ton of prep to do Friday to make sure it would go smoothly, starting with picking up the rented 24-foot moving truck (which is glorious fun to back up). Jeffery, Michal, and I then moved all the boxes in the house into the truck so the paid movers would only spend their hourly rate time on actually moving the big heavy things. Then, with the help of one of Jeffery’s fellow law students, who was bribed with pancakes, we moved the rest of our new furniture from Kentucky into the house to the first floor, again in prep for the movers to move them into their respective places on the floors above.

Come morning at 7 AM, Michal and I did last minute prep; I taped down the drawers on the desk and took apart a few of the larger pieces of furniture so they would fit through the door. At the same time, Michal was moving the small loose furniture items (like lamps and chairs) to a staging area in front of the house so the movers could be unhindered in moving the larger items (like the lazy boys, couch, and desks). The kitties had been cordoned off to the bathroom as one of our first steps and had been mewing their discontent with the whole affair nonstop. Once I finished with my task, I went and brought the truck in front of the house. Around 9:30 people started showing up. Jenn was first, then the movers, then Matt, then Carl. Work was split between the HUC contingent (Carl, Matt, Jenn, Michal) and the movers (Dennis and his side kick, Will) with me coordinating the movers and Michal coordinating the HUC labor.

The movers, true to their word, didn’t dally and started hauling large objects with inhuman strength and amazing speed into the truck. In about an hour they had every large object out and packed securely in the truck. They then started to pack the boxes and smaller objects with a skill that would intimidate a Tetris master. By this time, the HUC contingent had finished emptying the contents of the basement and garage to the driveway. To be productive, the HUC arm of the move filled their personal cars with items and drove off to the new house while I finished with the movers.

By the time the movers finished, the truck was filled from floor to ceiling, back to front with all of our material possessions. I told them to break for lunch and I would take the truck over to the new house.

For those who have never driven a truck of 24 feet in length or larger, I should tell you that it is almost nothing like driving a car. You don’t so much drive a truck of this size, as you do operate it. Stopping and turning, especially when fully loaded, and especially on the hills of Cincinnati, require the planning and charting of an orbital satellite trajectory. Backing up in the narrow Cincinnati streets is a two-person operation as you are doing it almost completely blind to what is behind you. You can do NOTHING quickly in the truck. If you are going 25 miles an hour, and a car darts in front of you, you are going to continue 25 MPH through said foolish car, leaving a car-shaped pancake in your wake. Despite all this, and perhaps even because of it, I actually came to really enjoy driving it. When I had to at last turn it in at the end of the move I knew I would miss the rumbling of its diesel engine and the hissing of its compressed air breaks.

Oh, and hydraulic lift gates on trucks are one of the coolest things on the planet.

Matt, Carl and Jenn continued to help with the unloading at the new house but ended their shift around noon, only to be replaced by the afternoon shift of Ari, his girlfriend Xandi, Josh, and of course Jeffery. We continued full throttle with the transition of objects from the truck to the house. The movers continued to move large objects from the truck to the upper floors of the house with the magical properties of watching someone push a square peg into a round hole. Which, as it turns out, is quite possible if you angle it right and grunt a lot.

We had some moving guest appearances of our lovely Sarah and her husband Chris (who is really cool because he still collects Star Wars toys because it’s his ‘work’). Jessica showed up unexpectedly and helped out quite a lot with the boxes in the back of the truck.

I need to break here and say a big thank you to all who helped. Every one of you contributed to the success of this move. Matt was always looking for ways to help with thoughtfulness and concern. Jenn was willing to do whatever we asked quickly and efficiently. Carl took on anything you threw at him with a charming smile that made you happy he was there. Josh kept you laughing even while you were breaking your back moving things. Sarah inspired us to buy this house. Ari moved boxes like a Spartan wages battle. Xandy chose to spend her day off helping her boyfriend move his classmate (and, for the record, held her own among the men in hard labor). Jessica braved the hydraulic lift and carried so many boxes it substituted for her daily gym workout. I also wanted to thank our professional moving team, Dennis and Will. They worked hard and had the most undesired task of getting Michal’s desk to the 3^rd floor, something I was sure was impossible. But most importantly, I have to give my greatest thanks award to Jeffery, who saved this move from disaster. Whenever we came across an impossible situation he would some how always make it work. He lifted furniture like he had superhuman strength. He worked until 2 in the morning on Friday to assure we could complete everything on Saturday. He found a way to save us huge sums of money with the truck rental (I will always use Penske from now on). Most importantly, however, we knew if we told Jeffery to do something, it would get done, no matter what it took.

When it was all done we said thank you and goodbye to everyone, doling out pizza like it was money, and with the help of Jeffrey, I returned the truck. That night I picked up our very panicked cats from their deserted location. I was greeted with many nuzzles of love and thankfulness of my return that were soon followed by meows of “don’t you ever do that again!” They hate travel so in the middle of a major pet session, I swooped them into their travel cases. By the time they realized what I had done they were already in the car on their way to their new home.

Michal and I released them when I got to the house and their reactions ranged from fear to awe. Osher immediately started exploring the perimeter, getting a lay of the land, while Simcha followed a few yards behind, tail fluffed out in stress, sniffing everything. They were both wide-eyed and amazed. Simcha would greet and nuzzle every old piece of furniture we had brought over like a drowning victim does a life preserver. Osher spent all night exploring the house, amazed by the attribute of its stairs. Simcha cried all night wanting to be back to his familiar home. We knew it would be a matter time before he would embrace our new house, but we had not expected it to be this traumatic for him. We started to wonder if the transition connected him back to when he was abandoned as a kitten, before we found him in Jerusalem. Regardless, it was a long night. Only this morning did he finally fall asleep and is starting to accept his new home. He currently is passed out on his cat castle.

Up to this point I have been so focused on getting things done that I haven’t had time to realize what I have done or why I’m doing it. It is only now, in the aftermath of the move, having spent the night in the new house and seeing all my furniture lit up by the morning light from the windows that I have finally really realized: I’m Home.