The Summer of Boxes

We made a major life decision a couple of weeks before the May 22 tornado in Joplin. We put an offer on a house. Since moving to Joplinland we had been renting a lovely house with wonderful neighbors. But the rent was high and it was time to put our money to work for us instead of our landlord. The house we bought is a mile from the house we were renting. Because of the close proximity, we chose not to get a U-Haul. "We can just load up our cars, a couple of loads a night" we told ourselves. "It'll be easier to move down the street than it was to move to/from Minnesota" was the delusion that drove us. Sweat, a million boxes and three weeks of frustration/exhaustion later and we're finally moved into the new house. And the new house is wonderful.

If it were just the move from one house to another then a few weeks of pain would have been bearable. But our move from house to house is the easiest part of our summer. The real fun will happen in a few weeks as we move from one church to another. All the stuff that our church members have accumulated in the past 10 years will have to be moved from the old school in Alba to our brand new "home" in Oronogo. Oh, don't get me wrong, the new church will be a dream-come-true for us all. The old Alba schol building is just moments away from being condemned. There's mold in the basement, broken A/C in most of the building, funny smells (not "ha ha" funny), stains on the floors and many many more quirks we will be leaving behind. When this summer is over I may never want to see another box again...unless it's wrapped in gift wrap and full of a wonderful surprise!