I’m not going to sugarcoat it – this has been the move from hell. But right now Mom and I are watching highlights from the inauguration in a Comfort Inn in Burlington, Colorado, and I am weeping with joy and amazement at this historic day. Life is good, despite the fact that virtually everything in my little world that could have gone wrong, has.
Moving boxes shipped to New York instead of Taos. Taos U-Haul didn’t have my truck. Mom’s flight was canceled. My bag slipped off the door hook in the Albuquerque airport bathroom and busted my laptop’s DVD. My car’s battery was dead.
On a positive note, it’s been a chance to practice my creative cursing skills on an almost hourly basis.
Then there was the repeated fun with snow-bound vehicles. Witness the spinning wheels burning rubber! The flying gravel and mud! Even more creative cursing!
Mom has remained unflappable despite all that, and I am 99% certain she is in fact a cyborg. When I was ready to curl up in the corner and beat my head against the wall, she saved the day over and over again with her upbeat spirit and practical mind. My favorite was her brilliant hay strategy for the driveway, which not only created traction over inches of ice, it made it appear that my land was carpeted in a fetching blonde shag.
She checked me when my worrying became ridiculously obsessive (“If a glass gets broken, just because it’s your favorite, you are not allowed to freak out”), and a hands-on approach to every step of the move. (I couldn’t picture how all my stuff was going to fit in the truck, so Mom jumped in, stood up straight – all 5’3” of her – and putting out her arms out said, “Okay, I’m a bookcase.” And the space started to make sense.)
In other words, I couldn’t have done this without her, but it’s not done yet. Tomorrow we’re driving across Kansas and into Missouri, then on and on until we arrive in New York on Saturday. We’ll get everything unloaded, return the truck to the Bronx, and find our way back to the Upper East Side. Then we’ll attempt to put my belongings into some semblance of order, but considering the ratio of stuff to square footage, I may just decide to put away what I can and pitch whatever’s left out the window. And I’ll be so tired, I won’t even curse when I do.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
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11 comments:
wow! what an adventure! well, it can only get better from now on (right?)...enjoy the rest of your trip and I LOVE your mom and her optimism! what a great influence on your life!
It has indeed gotten better! We are disaster-free since yesterday morning.
Mom and I remain optimistic about the rest of this godforesaken adventure, and if nothing else, are making quick work of a delicious bottle of Sauvignon Blanc at this very moment. Life is good.
So glad to hear today was better. Hope you and mom have an uneventful rest of the trip.
Sounds like nearly every moving adventure I've ever had. I've decided....I'm not doing it again.
I hope that the rest of your journey is calm and peaceful.
Whenever I see a phrase like "creative cursing" I always think of a particular anecdote about Alan Alda. (That's right, this is a M*A*S*H thing.) So he's on the set and in this huge arguement with the producers over who-knows-what. (A hissy fit, basically.) And he's reeling off every curse word he can think of until he can't think of any more combinations—and then he yells out "horse!"
"Horse?" (It soon became his favorite curse word.)
So if you yell 'horse' to your mother and sparks fly out of her head, she is a cyborg.
Wish we could've been there to see the hay on your driveway--what an inspired solution! Just be glad that you, your mom, and the U-Haul got out before the height of the mud season. Best of luck with the unloading process, and say hi to your mom from us
All your good wishes are apparently working, since we're still disaster-free on day three. Though now I'm sort of hoping something does happen so I can shout, "Horse!!"
(Beth - Mom: "Hello!")
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Dog gone it Deonne! I wish I would've read this sooner, and I could've met you and mom for a meal when you came through Missouri! This is God's Country, and we have good biscuits and gravy.
Hope the move is going better Deonne.
On the plus side, what a great addition to the memoir this will be! Even from the brief descriptions here it's obvious the world should probably know about your mother!
Jed - I'd never been through Missouri, but it is a gorgeous state, even in winter. Sorry we missed you and the biscuits.
Margosita - Making Mom famous. That's now my goal.
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