Oh, people, you have NO idea how tired I am right now!

What time did the movers finish last night? Well, let’s see … they had to go back to our old house around 2:00 a.m. to get a SECOND load of furniture. Yes, you heard me. Two in the morning … our neighbors, old and new, must just love us.

When did they finish the actual moving in process? That would be 4:00 in the morning … eighteen hours after they started.

Eighteen hours.

Now, we can’t complain a bit about the three men doing this move. They worked HARD. They were nice, they were polite, they were good humored throughout, despite being exhausted at the end. We felt really bad that we couldn’t give them the size tip that they truly deserved. They earned it! But, as you know, this move was necessitated by financial need, and considering that the move cost us $1100 MORE than the high end of the estimate, and about the same as a month of our new rent (which is a real stretch to begin with) … the best we could do was making them coffee and giving our sincere thanks.

Their boss, on the other hand? Well … you would think that a person that owns a professional moving company would be able to estimate a LITTLE closer than that. That they would send the four men they said they would, instead of just three. That they would send a truck big enough to hold all the furniture, instead of making that short-handed crew to make a second trip back at two in the morning … and thank heaven that it’s only 2.5 miles back. You would think that, if the owner said he was going to come on the day of the move, that he would … or that he would at least return his crew’s no doubt frantic pleas for more guys or a second truck.

Needless to say, we are not at all happy with the man in charge.

And we are really, really tired. I managed to sleep late this morning … I got a whole four hours of sleep.

Well, almost.

Chappy was WONDERFUL yesterday. Bringing him to the house early, before the movers arrived was definitely the right choice. We set up his ex-pen in the kitchen for when the guys got here, but in the meantime, we sat on cushions in the front window. (You know, before the house filled up with lots, and lots of stuff.) He relaxed. He napped. He was happy, if confused. The only time he barked was when the movers brought stuff right into the kitchen and walked past him.

But … by the time we got to bed … and I am SO grateful for having just rolled my feather bed, comforter, and pillows together, so that I was able to make my bed at 4:15 in the morning in about two minutes flat … By the time we got to bed, he was fidgety. He was restless. Of course, he was the only one of the 7 of us involved in this move that got to nap, but this is what he always does the first night in a strange place. And, since he’s having trouble with stairs and such lately, and our usual jump-on-the-bed ottoman now lives in a different room, I didn’t want to risk him jumping off my very tall bed in the dark. I was certainly too tired to deal with it! So, he got to sleep in his crate last night. Possibly tonight, too, I’m not sure.

Today, though? I can’t get him to go to the bathroom. Now, our old house, his whole life, he went on the deck in the back. Always. Sure, when we went for walks, he would take advantage of the amenities, leave messages and such, but his regular bathroom was a deck. This townhouse actually has two of them, and when he visited on Saturday, he used one as his facilities just fine.

Yesterday and today, though? He sits by the front door, and when I open the door for him to use the deck, he goes outside and sits down. Or runs right back inside and heads for the front door. It’s like house-training all over again. He looked so desperate this morning, I DID finally take him out front, but I held strong this afternoon (and felt like a terrible, mean person), and he did eventually make one, very big puddle. But, since then? Nope. He just looks miserable.

Sigh. I keep telling him that we’re all making adjustments, but it doesn’t seem to help! (And the point of him going on the deck is so I don’t have to take him out for walks just before work, or when it’s raining or snowing. Or so that my parents don’t have to–especially since Mom can’t hold his leash because of her hands. He HAS to take advantage of our simply opening a door for him. A leash and heading out the front door every time is simply not an option.)

So, some pictures? Here you go.

At this point, we’re all wondering why on earth our furniture is so BIG. There were a couple pieces they couldn’t get in at all. Which means that there are a couple things we were expecting to have but don’t … and things that we have that are way too big for the space available. And, um, no money to make changes, so we’re just going to have to deal for a while.

On the plus side, my bedroom–small though it is–is at least set in its essentials. We reworked the furniture arrangement this morning. I’ve only got about a foot between my bed and the closet, and the dresser drawers don’t quite open all the way at the foot of the bed, but at least everything is there. I just have to find my jewelry box for the dresser top, put out a couple pictures and get my mirror hung on the wall, and that room is set. And my toiletries are all in the bathroom where I can at least find them.

The rest? The kitchen? The living room? The entire downstairs where Mom and Dad’s offices will be, as well as the bulk of my books? Um … well …

Okay, really, really tired now!

• Tags: Family, General • Permalink:Death by Moving Van // 10 Comments »