Packing & other tribulations

Saturday, friends swung by the apartment to help move furniture that would not be making the trip to Texas. With an upright Adirondack chair on top of a packed minivan, we looked like the Clampetts. All that was missing was Granny.

It was so RELIEVING to get that stuff GONE. (Is that even an English sentence?)

I hate to pack. Who doesn't?

After moving over oceans and between continents more often than some folks clean their garages, I feel like I've paid my dues.

I'm worried about stressing out the blind one-eyed cat (yes, I am.)

What will I need when I get to Houston besides an air conditioner and deoderant?

Will it cost more to drag this stuff around for the next three months than to reinvest in it when I land in Houston?

Are there things that the kids want as part of our family story?

Do I have enough boxes?

What will life look like in south Texas?

Can I do this thing?

And then I got sick.

In typical Allie "wisdom", I tried to push through – ignoring the listing to the left when walking or driving because my balance is off.

Ignoring the wobbles and kleenexes and thumping  head…until I couldn't.

So I turned the AC down to 63 degrees and prayed for sleep. Sleep came and so did the realization that I needed to stay in bed for a day…a day I did not feel that I had to spare.

Why do we do this to ourselves? Push! Push! Push! Go! Run! Do! …splat.

I slept most of yesterday. I slept and when I wasn't sleeping, I nibbled on dark chocolate chips and slugged coffee in a long shot at self-medication.

I read, caught up on a few borrowed books, dove into my favorite ancient stories of a girl named Esther and another named Ruth; received a text from a new old friend that reminded me of "in whom is my *dwelling place", and then I had a thought.

I don't really need any of this stuff.

None of it.

Diddley.

Squat.

Okay, maybe I could use some fresh unmentionables and a toothbrush, but aside from that, I don't need any of it.

No books.

No three trees that I purchased from Jules.

No favorite pictures.

No coffee pot.

Not even my favorite dining room table.

Aaaahhhhhhhhhhh.

I rolled over and snored a bit in that thought until my friend, Ann, popped over to pray, chat, and move more stuff out of the 'hood.

I've gotten more done since she left because of the peace she poured into my squiggly heart.

And that's what I'm taking to Houston; peace, friendship, hope, love, goofyness, wonderings, a few extra pounds (dangit), books, and a blind one-eyed cat.

I think that's enough.

Buckle up, Howard. The Clampetts will soon be on the move.