Packing

I can't remember the last time I worked this hard. My sister's house isn't huge but it has lots of nooks and crannies for storage. And they were all once filled to capacity and slightly beyond. There were a lot of things packed before I arrived and yet …

Many, many more boxes have been packed and stowed and there is still more to go. I've moved and in the early years had to do it all myself. I've helped Joe move and, inadvertently, Matt as well. Moving across the country (or state) is far different from moving down the street. I've always had an abundance of help moving far distances.

The exhausting part has been the weeding out of the essential from the non-essential. And then selling off the non-essential. One garage sale was held a few weeks ago and a second was held this past week. We had departments set up with the neighbor's garage as the furniture show room and the patio as the seasonal section. The greenhouse was where we put the extra clothes but we ran into a problem when we found the dresser also full of clothing.

There was a craft section, several bookcases full of both hardback and paperback books. We set up an electronics section near the plug. There was a children's center, linens, crafts, kitchenware, and candles. Tons of candles. The clothesline was hung with the flag banners and wind socks.

They came in droves. They came by the bus load I believe. The first day of the sale, Gulf Road was blocked and everyone was directed right past our signs of a garage sale.

Vini. Vidi. Visa. They came. They saw. They shopped. We sold items ridiculously cheap. Dresses (and they were all very nice dresses) for $1. Mom's suits, beautifully tailored and cared for were $2. Christopher & Banks sweaters were $1. Hard cover books were a quarter and paperbacks were a dime. Everything must go.

But of course, it didn't. So we took all the remaining beautiful clothing and donated it to a shelter for abused women. They help these women complete their education and get some job skills and then dress them for their job interviews and get them started on a path to success. It is a wonderful concept.

Then a woman from the Humane Society came with her grandson and great-grandson and took the rest of our items away. The Human Society is having their own rummage sale with proceeds going to protect their animal friends.

My sister made thousands of dollars during the two sales. Enough to pay for getting the remaining crap moved across the country.

Of course she didn't do it alone. Mary Jo brought the doughnuts and the laughter. Rose and Roseann have been the most incredible friends. I have never seen two woman work so hard and so long in such an altruistic manner. Days in the heat – lugging furniture in an out of the garage, depending on the cloud cover. Arranging and rearranging items in an effort to better market and sell off the stuff. Bringing tables to help display the crap and packing up the stuff to get ready for the Humane Society's pick up.

All this was overwhelming. But it's not all. They will be back to help with packing the big truck. And after that, I will be able to tell the story of Thelma and Louise and Louise driving across the country.