Moving In

The plan was to get the keys on Thursday and move in on Friday. Things did not go according to that plan.



On Thursday morning Dave came home from work and asked when I was getting the key. I told him that it would after lunch and asked him if he would like to come and see the house. He said that he would like that very much and offered to move a load over for me. I accepted the offer and told him that I would call when I got the key.


At two o’clock I still hadn’t heard from the realtor, so I called to see what was happening. There was a delay in the closing because the seller had to sign a form agreeing to a hold back on the funds until the work that was supposed to be done before closing was finished. She knew I was anxious to get the key and so gave it to me anyway. I went to her office and she presented me with a fat ring of keys and a really cool house-warming gift of three painted blocks with the words Friends, Family and Faith stencilled on them. I cried.


I went back to the trailer to let Dave know that I had the keys. He already had the truck loaded and was ready to go. I had taken the afternoon off, so we drove over to the house to unload. The keys didn’t work. Of the 10 keys on the ring, not one opened any of the doors. I ran next door to ask my neighbour, who happens to be the sister-in-law of the seller if she had any more keys. She said she did not. I called the realtor and she came right over.


Dave had tried all the keys in all the doors with no luck. The realtor tried next. No luck. I was locked out of my own house!


While we were attempting to get into the house, I noticed movement in the back of the pickup. I looked over to see Petunia, our cat, crawling out from under a box. Dave and I started chasing her around the yard trying to catch her. Dave finally managed to get hold of her in the neighbour’s yard and put her in the front of the truck.


The keys were passed back to Dave and he tried again. He passed them back to the realtor and she tried again. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Suddenly, she called over to Dave and me, saying that she had opened the garden door off the front deck. Halleluiah! We went in and opened the kitchen door. She tried the key that was supposed to open that door again and, low and behold it worked. I was so relieved. We were all perplexed!


Dave and I started schlepping boxes into the house. When we were done, I suggested that we go out for an early supper and so the two of us went to the Pizza Factory for a much deserved meal. We had a pleasant talk about life and when we were done, Dave offered to get another load. I asked him if he was okay to do that as it was after four and he had been up all night working. He said he was fine. I asked him if he was trying to get rid of me. He laughed.


After the second load there wasn’t much left, so we decided we might as well finish. By seven o’clock all my stuff was moved and I suddenly realized that I wasn’t going back to the trailer. I tried really hard to keep it together, but the tears started welling up and I started to cry again. Dave came over to me and gave me a big hug. He told me that he loved me and that he hoped that I would be happy in my new home. When he left, I collapsed in a puddle among the boxes and bawled my eyes out for half an hour. It was all just too much.


I finally forced myself up off the floor and went to wash my face, using cold water to chase the red blotches away. I gave myself a stern talking to and made a new plan. Get the kitchen organized! I started opening boxes and finding places to put the contents. I moved boxes to rooms where they belonged, sorting kitchen stuff out and putting it all away. By nine I was exhausted, so I left the kitchen about half done and moved into the bedroom. I made the bed, hung up clothes, found my pjs and decided that I’d had enough for one day. It was time for bed.


No toothbrush! Brilliant!


I scrubbed my teeth with a wash cloth and found a piece of gum to chew for a few minutes. It would have to do.


I went down stairs to check that the basement door was locked. It was. I turned out lights, got into my pjs and crawled into bed. My ankles ached, my back ached and I just wanted to sleep for a week. I fired up the Kobo and started to read. A few sentences in I thought I heard the inner basement door close and a man’s voice. Crap! What was that?


Bravely, I got up and went out to the hall. I called out, but no one answered. I started flicking on every light in the house and tip toed down the stairs. “Hello,” I called out. “Is someone there?” No reply. When I got to the door, it was indeed closed. I was, needless to say, just a little freaked out. I knew that I had left it open, so I opened it again and rechecked the outside door. It was still locked.


About half way up the stairs I thought I heard a man’s voice again. I stopped and listened. All was quiet. I checked windows to make sure they were all closed and locked. Maybe the voice was coming from outside. They were all closed and locked. I went back to bed, picked up the Kobo and started to read. There were no further voices or closing doors and within minutes my eyelids started to droop. I put away the Kobo and turned off the light. Within seconds, I think, I fell into a deep and peaceful sleep.


At 2:30 I woke up. I tossed and turned for a while. Got up for a pee. Tossed and turned some more. A couple of hours inched slowly by before I fell back asleep. At six a.m., my eyes popped open and I knew that I was done for the night. Time to get up and face the boxes!


I made coffee, showered, got dressed and wandered around looking at the great pile of un-unpacked boxes left to deal with. It was daunting. But they weren’t going to unpack themselves so I dug in once again. Somehow, between all the visitors (brother-in-law, brother, brother, sister-in-law, friend, friend, friend) I managed to get everything unpacked and put away. Well, almost everything. I couldn’t unpack my books (some 400+ books) because I need book shelves. But everything else has a home. I’m not entirely sure if I’ll ever find it all, but it’s somewhere in the house waiting to be discovered again.


Breakage was kept to a minimum. One light bulb, two plants (minor damage) and one chipped gargoyle. Not too bad. Nothing went missing, though one wall hanging disappeared for a while. Somehow it managed to get in with the Christmas decorations. But all is well, now and it is hanging in the hall way between the master and spare bedrooms.


Today is day three. So far, it’s been a good day. I bought groceries and a few other odds and ends. I’m going to go through my yarn and start a new project. Not sure what yet – probably socks of some kind. Later, my friend is going to stop by with a step ladder so I can hang my kite up in the living room. Home is where you hang your kite after all! LOL