Moving Van Anticipation

If all goes well, tonight I will be sleeping in my own bed.  The moving van is supposed to come today between noon and 3:00.  Fingers crossed that all goes well.

Yesterday, the furniture that we bought on Friday was delivered.  We have been wanting a small sofa for many years, but a combination of forces kept us from buying:  not knowing what we wanted, not wanting to spend the money, knowing we would be moving.

That furniture was delivered effortlessly.  May today be the same.

You might ask why I am worried.  It's because this house presents some challenges:  a gravel driveway that has some slope, and a steep set of 6 stairs to get to the only doors to the house that are in the back.  I am sure they have dealt with worse.

Strange to think that it has been almost a week since our furniture got loaded on that van and driven away.  It's been a week of feeling effective:  getting trash service set up and choosing some furniture.  We've gotten 2 carloads of stuff moved into the house, but we couldn't put all of it away because some of what we need is on the van (like a dresser).

It's been a week of feeling ineffective.  We planned to buy a refrigerator.  Back in the olden times, the last time we needed to buy a refrigerator, we had lots of options:  Sears and other department stores, home builder supply big box stores, local mom and pop stores, and scratch and dent places--not to mention classified ads.  We went to a local appliance store here, one that a neighbor recommended, but it's more of a showroom, where you can order an appliance and have it delivered.

But it won't be delivered right away.  Supply chain issues are snarling up availability.  We went to the nearby Lowe's, which said we could have the same fridge that we saw at the local appliance store and that it could be delivered the next day.

But that sign in the store and on the website is wrong.  There are none in stock, 600 on order, and who knows when those refrigerators will arrive.

We ended up buying a very small dorm style fridge that was on sale.  In a few weeks, I won't be living here, and my spouse doesn't use the fridge for much more than keeping beer cold. We didn't spend the extra $150 to get one with a freezer.  

Similarly, yesterday we spent a lot of time looking for some sort of screened tent like thing to put at the end of our deck, something that could give shelter from the rain and also protection from bees and other flying creatures.  Our deck is only 8 feet in one direction, and many tents and gazebos are 10 feet or bigger.

By evening, I was feeling dispirited, and I don't know why.  In part, it was feeling like we weren't making progress.  In part, it was because my spouse talked about a variety of home improvements that seem like more trouble than they are worth to me.  In part, it's because that summer is almost over, and there's that feeling I always have of feeling like I haven't gotten quite enough done.  I feel that way regardless of the season.

I predict that today will offer a different feeling at the end of the day--fingers crossed that it's a good feeling!