Moving - The End

Chris and I arrived at our new home four days ago.  We unpacked the final boxes last night, and we are already feeling quite settled.  Getting to this point, however, was nothing short of eventful...

1.  Chris was summoned for jury duty six days before we had to vacate our apartment in San Antonio.  He was subsequently selected to serve on the jury and was unavailable for three days.  Perfect timing.

2.  I rented a U-Haul truck for our move.  When Chris and I picked up the truck at the rental facility, I noticed that a lot of the trucks displayed messages about using the truck for "Your Moving Adventure" underneath happy pictures of animals and nature.  While the slogan and images evoked ideas of fun and pleasant memories, the act of moving does not actually create very many fun or pleasant memories.

3.  Moving is a beast when you have appliances and big furniture.  I now know that moving a couple of appliances and a few big pieces of furniture is a lot more work than moving twice as many boxes and small pieces of furniture.   Thank you so much to Ed, Felipe, and Justin for helping Chris and I load everything.  

4.  I loved my apartment in San Antonio so much that I became emotional when it was time to say good-bye and shut the door one last time.  In my defense, I believe that my emotional state was also affected by the temporary homelessness that followed.

5.  Regarding temporary homelessness, moving is a lot less stressful if you know when you can move into your new home before you have to leave your old home.  Praise God for good friends who shared their home for a few days and an enterprising young man who gave Chris and I a "cash payment discount" of 50% on late charges when we returned our moving truck two days late. 

6.  Renting a 26-foot moving truck with an auto transport trailer should probably be against the law, or at least against U-Haul company policy.  After four days with an oversized truck and trailer, I give you the "Top Ten Reasons Why You Should Never Rent a 26-Foot Moving Truck with Auto Transport Trailer":

(10) A 26 foot truck is the biggest truck you can rent from U-Haul and therefore costs the most money.

(9) Renting a 26 foot truck means that you have enough treasures to fill it, which is entirely too many treasures.

(8) Parking on the street is really your only option, and it requires half a block of empty space and no overhanging trees.

(7) Buying gas requires multiple transactions because most gas stations impose a $100 limit on each transaction.

(6) While driving, (a) the truck may leak fuel, (b) a chain on the trailer may drag the ground and create a never ending stream of sparks, and (c) these two events may occur at the same time. 

(5) The truck comes with a disclaimer that it is not waterproof, but the truck is too deep to examine for possible leaks after it is filled and it starts raining.  

(4) Backing up: The sheer size of the truck and trailer combination make it humanly impossible to simultaneously monitor both sides of the truck and remain close enough to yell directions at the driver attempting to back up  

(3) Backing up in public: Everyone offers to help, including a doped-out homeless person who stands behind the truck, yells confusing directions, and then exclaims halfway through the process that he "didn't know there was a trailer attached."

(2) Missing your exit on the freeway requires rerouting your trip instead of turning around and risking additional situations that require backing up in public.

(1) Driving the truck while towing the trailer will exhaust you mentally and physically, which leaves you in no state to unload the truck at your new home.  

Praise God for watching over Chris and I throughout our move and bringing us to our new home safe and sound.  I look forward to making new friends and memories in our new home.