We woke Sunday eager to see the rental house we had rented via pictures and phone calls, to unpack the truck, to find my suitcase, and begin to settle in to our new home. Kramer and Sadie were ready to quit being in pet crates and to have a backyard. At the same time, I was anxious about what we would find when we returned to the office parking lot where our rental truck was parked. Against their will, Kramer and Sadie were tucked into their pet crates and secured in the back seat of the car, and we drove across town to the office parking lot. I held my breath as we turned the corner into the parking lot. There set the rental truck and my SUV on the trailer behind it totally pristine and unmolested. I felt silly for being concerned. Where was my faith? Perhaps it was all the tension from the moving and upended-ness, but I felt ashamed of myself for allowing worry to overcome me.We said several "Thank You Jesus" prayers, and Kramer and I assumed our positions in the rental truck that we had assumed over the last couple of days and began the short drive to the house following Allison's lead through town.
I hardly had dropped the trailer and backed the truck up the driveway than the guys from the moving company that were unloading us arrived. And right behind them came the realtor with keys. Moving from 1,700 Sq Ft to 1,100 Sq Ft does not sound like a big deal, but we quickly realized a bit more pairing down would be required. The house originally had a one car garage that had been converted into a master bedroom, so my garage contents were going to need a new home. Much to my surprise there was a storage barn in the backyard that was not in the pictures we had seen or the rental listing. That was a huge blessing as I had been expecting to have to purchase and assemble one on top of all the other moving chores. When the truck was almost completely emptied, we found my long lost suitcase that had been packed for the trip!
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| After 900 miles and two days without clean clothes and my own deodorant - my suitcase! (credit: The Author) |
The moving guys were amazing and had the truck completely unpacked in a little over three hours. God Bless those hard working and good natured guys! We filled the rental truck with diesel for the last time, and navigated our way to the closest Penske Rental Center. Fortunately for us, it was within 10 miles of the house. We had barely gotten home when our friends, the Bartons arrived and all six of them dove in helping arrange and unbox. They were amazing! It was like having a small army. Kramer convinced their kids to play ball with him, and he was quickly a happy dog.
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| Kramer James (credit: The Author) |
As is always the case with something during a move, the screws that attach the mirror to the dresser turned up MIA. So, Bill and I found an Ace Hardware and headed over to pickup replacements. As we were just days away from the Fourth of July and our son-in-law is active duty in the U.S. Army, I picked up an American flag for the front of the house. The Bartons surprised us with a house warming gift - a pair of plastic pink flamingos for the front yard. We loved it! Allison and I had committed to embracing all that is Florida - pink flamingos and Hawaiian shirts!
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| Lil Pink Flamingos For You And Me #EmbraceThePinkFlamingos (credit: The Author) |
During the unboxing process, I was summonsed to the guest room, and much to my surprise I discovered to former residents had apparently had a fondness for pink flamingos as well. They had adorned the guest room with a pink flamingo light switch wall plate.
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| #EmbraceThePinkFlamingos (credit: The Author) |
Before the Bartons left, we celebrated the reunion with their family and our move with dinner at the Cracker Barrel just blocks from the house. And you cannot go wrong with a Cracker Barrel that has palm trees out front right? I can almost hear a heavenly chorus sing just looking at it!
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| Cracker Barrel and Palm Trees (credit: The Author) |
We slept soundly the first night in our new home and Sadie and Kramer slept peacefully for the first time since leaving Atlanta.
