Moving day(s)!!

To write about moving day, we need to back up to Sunday.  On Sunday it poured down rain all day.  And the weatherman announced the same type of weather for Reims on Monday and for Rouen on Tuesday.  But since the date was already set we couldn’t change it or the weather.  We did pray for drier weather on Monday.

The men arrived around 7:30.  The time to get the BIG truck parked they started packing it around 8:00.  One interesting thing happened.  We couldn’t figure out why the cars had parked where the signs were on the street.  When the men came and looked at them, the sign had Friday’s date (2/12) instead of Monday’s date (5/12).  Our street is so narrow that until the cars moved anyone who came down the street had to turn around and go back up the street (on our one way street).

They took about a 2 hour lunch break (typical for France) and then finished up the moving around 3:30.  There were 5 or 6 men working all day.  One or two always stayed in the truck packing the things.  It was very interesting to watch.  It was like they were putting a puzzle together.  They would tell the men bringing the things down, heavy, light, big, small, oblong, square, etc.  The others would carry the things down from upstairs on one shoulder or in their arms.    What would have taken Mike and me a long time and a lot of huffing and puffing to get down the steps, they were able to do with one person.  Incredible.

Even more incredible was that it was beautiful weather most of the day on Monday.  While they carried the furniture out, beautiful sunshine.  During their lunch break, a few raindrops.  In the afternoon , beautiful sunshine.  The rain started just as we left for Rouen. 

The piano was the last thing to go into the truck.  Once the house was empty we swept and washed the floors and drove to Rouen.  We didn’t get there until close to 10:30.  We had hard rain and rain mixed with snow most of the way.  We were so tired, emotionally and physically when we got here.  

They arrived yesterday around 9:30.  There were four men to unload the truck.  They worked the same way they had on Monday.  But this time they would ask which room things would go in.  We knew right away that we were in trouble. . .Moving from a 6 bedroom house to a small four bedroom house means that there isn’t enough room for everything.  The garage in Reims was about twice as big as this garage and we had three bathrooms here there is one.  We also had a big storage closet in Reims which we don’t have here.  Needless to say, there is stuff everywhere.  I even have suitcases in my kitchen.   The piano was the last thing that they brought into the house.

We were kind of overwhelmed when the men finally left at 3:30 yesterday.  By the way it rained and was windy all night?  When they arrived in the morning we had a beautiful blue sky.  Unfortunately by the afternoon (after their lunch break) it was windy and rainy again. 

We got our bed frame put together and the bed made.  Then we put Emily’s bed together and got her bed made.  She got her Christmas tree up and decorated.  We looked and looked but never did find the rest of her decorations.  We’ll probably find them around Easter.

I did get about 5 boxes unpacked.  But  because there is stuff everywhere it is hard to know where to start.  Today we want to set up the Christmas tree.  Those things are easy to identify because they are in their usual boxes.  But they might be hard to get at.  We’ll see.

We’re trying to get things as normal as possible for Emily.  While they loaded the truck she stood at her bedroom window watching everything.  We had moved everything out of her room on Sunday so that she could sleep in and not be bothered.  It worked out really well.  Here she again stood at her window and watched.  Once the men left, she started in with her “talking” etc.

I was hoping when I went to bed last night that everything would be in its place this morning.  But no!  Everything is exactly as we left it last night.   There is a lot of work ahead of us.  But it will be like being on vacation because we don’t have a deadline to get things put away.   

Saying that I’d better get to work. . .