"Never Take Friendship Personal"

Thank God for friends who aren't opposed to sweating a bit in the Southern humidity! After moving just about anything that would fit in our cars all last week—and after a quick weekend field trip to a small Georgia town for a family wedding—we finally moved all our stuff in to our new place a little more than a week ago, thanks to a fantastic effort by those foolish enough to accept our invitation to help out. All told, our “crew” worked for about an hour-and-change, and we were done.

It almost feels wrong to badmouth the “old” place. When we decided to move here, housing was slim pickin’s, and we were thankful to have anything at that point. I think we conveniently forgot that fact when our gripes were piling up. Somehow, seeing the city’s abundant homeless population didn’t do much to temper our complaints. Uh, my bad?

Anyway, we’re now in an environment where we feel more comfortable—a house with yard/garage/closets/etc. and no neighbors right on top of us—and I’m hoping that the next several years are free of U-Haul trucks, packing tape and paper plates. After 12-plus years together, and nearly seven years of marriage, this was our first in-town, in-state move—despite packing our things and throwing them on a rented truck more times than I care to recall.

And to our friends who continue to offer their help, for our next move we promise to at least try to sign a lease in the winter.