Moving in, Moving Up

It was a busy weekend.

Although we took possession of our new rental townhome on Sunday February 12th, we spent that day and the following week building our new Ikea bedroom furniture and doing other prep work. This past Saturday, on the 18th, we scheduled the moving truck rental, sod delivery, and cable installation. All at the same time.

We didn’t really intend for that to happen, it just did. The sod company had non-existent customer service and essentially told me it would be delivered “before lunch.” The cable company gave us a window of 10am-12pm. The cable company is never on time though, right?

We were scheduled to pick up the Budget truck at 9am, and that was a cluster from the moment we walked in. Roughly 40mins later, we left the run-down agency with our tiny truck and I called to find out what time the sod would arrive. I had warned the salesman that we would be moving and would need notice in order to be there. Of course, my salesman was off that day, and the tobacco chewing “gentleman” who answered the phone told me the delivery truck was at the new place RIGHT NOW.

Fabulous.

I hustled over and found the delivery truck leaving the neighborhood, and the cable truck sitting in the driveway at ten minutes before 10am. EARLY. My cousin didn’t believe it when we told him that happened. It is metaphysical impossibility.

Fortunately, the sod was placed in the upper corner of the driveway near the garage and with enough room left for other vehicles. The cable guy did his thing while I called Buster and confirmed that he had the help of my cousin Guy with loading furniture. The wheels finally started turning in the correct direction once the cable man left with a job well done and moved his truck just in time for Buster and Guy to arrive with the first load of furniture.

I hustled off to get coffee (before anyone was injured due to my caffeine withdrawals), as well as several pairs of gloves which we had forgotten in our sod preparation purchasing.

Although he probably regretted it, Guy volunteered to stay and help with the laying of sod while our friend Mike took over helping Buster with the rest of the furniture. Laying 400sq/ft of sod would have been a breeze had we been able to have the pallet delivered to the backyard. Sadly, without a helicopter, this was impossible. Our tiny townhome has a wonderful privacy fence, but no gate or access anywhere but through the house.

After some trial and error and brainstorming, Guy and I developed a system of transport for the heavy pieces of earth. Using a tarp, we loaded four pieces of sod (five was too many, trust me, we tried) and drug the tarp through the garage to the backdoor. From there, we rested the tarp on an old rolling chair that was left in the garage and pushed it through the kitchen to where the carpet began in the living room. With sheets covering our unfortunately light-cream carpet, we lugged the tarp the remainder of the way to the edge of the patio in the backyard. This may not sound like much, but we had to squat, lift, and haul about fifty times in order to get the job done. Poor Guy was black with dirt from head to toe and pouring sweat. Thank goodness it was February. I was lightheaded at a few points myself, and was terribly sore for two days after.

Our efforts were worth it though, once we could step back and look at what used to be a yard full of dirt, and is now a lawn. Guy even thanked me for the awesome workout, and I thanked him for being a superhero.

We brought the dogs over that night, and they immediately christened it. They also ran up and down the stairs, bounced off the furniture, and barked. A lot. It was very exciting.

While it has taken some getting used to, we are all settling in. Moving is always hard, but in this case, we have really moved up. I can’t believe the difference in my stress level with not having to walk dogs around a crowded apartment, avoiding unfriendly neighbors and other dogs, as well as the piles they leave behind. We have a nice park about five minutes down the street for longer walks and Frisbee playing, and lots more room in the house for staying out of each other’s way. We increased our number of bathrooms from one to two and a half, we have a huge, attached garage, and lots more closet space. Counter space in the kitchen outweighs the loss of our fancy, newer appliances at the old place, and we have a mantle over a fireplace on which our tv now rests, creating a cozy little living space. It is also nice having two floors, the bottom one for living in, and the top one for sleeping and showering. So much space. Ahhhhh. Oh, and we mustn't forget the new king sized bed that could sleep a kingdom. Or a pitiful dog who is afraid to sleep downstairs alone and barks at 3am and whose name is Xander....

We still have a weekend’s worth of work ahead of us to get the rest of our stuff from the old place, as well as giving it a thorough cleaning before our lease expires on the 28th. Moving is no fun, but it has made a huge difference in my outlook just in a few days. The best part is, we are paying the same in rent as we were before! Old apartment, you can take your amenities and rate increases and shove them up your…..ummmm, have a nice day.