Sunday was K’s day to move to her first apartment! Yeah!! We were slightly clouded over by remembering her last moving day the end of May. You may remember (or this will jog your memory) that there is no place to load or unload at the Madison building.
So preceeding the moving day, my prayer was that God would provide a parking place for the truck & UHaul for Sunday, 8/16. Then I thought, why not ask for more pray-ers.
I posted on Facebook that Friday and had many people give a thumbs up to indicate they were praying and several comments of support & prayers. Then I posted to the Sonlight (curriculum) forums that I frequent. And finally, I sent an email to our siblings & my parents. I formed my “team”.
Now, the play by play:
Phil & I got up just before 4:30 a.m. Sunday morning. I had awakened at 4 and he a bit later. Phil headed for chores in the dark and I sleepily walked to the shower in hopes of awakening.
We finished the final packing of the truck (truck bed & back seat were full to the gills!) and headed to Chicago at 6 a.m. (JP drummed for both services so was then home for dog care & chores in the afternoon. )
We arrived at the new apartment at 8:29 and K arrived just a few mins later (she had taken the subway to her new place). So first, we unloaded the truck of stuff from home including her new bed/couch and microwave she had bought a few weeks ago. 🙂
We then went to the UHaul place just a few blocks up the street. Once inside, K & I waited in a slow-moving line and 2 employees were helping people. I questioned how much it helped to that K had reserved a trailer! One man then entered and BUTTED-IN line in front of everyone! I said we were waiting too and he shrugged me off. Boy did that make my blood boil. 😦
A worker took him next and we could tell by the conversation he had been in already and his little car couldn’t pull a trailer so he needed a re-do. So do you think that meant he could butt in line?
Finally, it was K’s turn and we actually got out of the office before the cutinlinedude. :p The trailer was quickly hooked to the truck, lights worked!, and we were off. (about 9:50) Off to drive through major traffic clogs as there was an air show nearby that day! ugh!!
However, as we neared downtown and her old place, the traffic wasn’t bad and Phil was getting happy pulling a trailer through the mess. ha! K commented that it was doubtful we’d have a parking place. I reminded her I had a team on that and she had seen the FB posts.
We rounded the corner onto Madison and her section of the street had 1 open parking place. In the middle, so there was no way even just the truck without the trailer would fit. We double-parked near that opening so at least we had access to the sidewalk.
K ran in to get the pre-loaded carts coming down with the help of Kyle, another RA who delights in helping anyone move. 🙂 (His pay is food which we took care of later.)
Phil & I got out and he started to open the back of the UHaul. I looked across the alley (same side of street) and there were TWO (2!) open parking places, on the end of the section, next to a fire hydrant (more open space), and next to the alley which is next to her building!! Ha!
Amazing!
(K remembers seeing a van in that spot when we pulled up and let her out. However, it wasn’t even a minute later that we were out of the truck and I saw the places were empty!)
I shouted to Phil to MOVE THE TRUCK, I ran to STAND IN THE PLACES!!, and he jumped in the truck and pulled down the 200′ to the places. He got out of the truck and with tears in my eyes I said, “He did it!” Phil said “Yep.” Wow!!
However, in my excitment, I didn’t text K that we got a parking place so when she came out of the building we were gone from where we had left her. Oops! Sorry!! However, she could see us just a bit down the street.
She & Kyle hauled out 6 carts in 2 trips. I helped to sort while Phil went to work packing the UHaul trailer. As K & Kyle were returning for more carts, I asked if there were 2 more. K said no which I assumed meant less than 2. Oh.how.wrong.I.was!! 🙂
(In this picture, you can see the end of the trailer is at the parking sign and then we had all this space to work!)
We wondered about the boxes sloshing around in the trailer.
Phil said, “Thank your team for me.” 🙂
Another 6 carts came down. LOL!
BUT… Phil packed it all in, we packed the truck bed full, and packed the truck full…. leaving just enough space for 3 in the front and 1 in the back. I had Mr. Fishy and a plant between my feet.
We were glad there was a space for Kyle to ride to the new place with us as his help was wonderful!! I think we left about 11.
Back to her neighborho0d, it was mayhem with traffic but the traffic cops were at the intersections so gave Phil a good left turn area. 🙂
(alley to basement entrance view)
At the new apartment, while on alley duty, I got things to the back of the trailer and to the tailgate so it was easier for Phil to pick up.
(oopsie! – don’t tell but that plastic bin that tipped has hats in it!)
Phil took it down the steps to the basement and down the hallway to the freight elevator that K could use for move-in. There Phil & Kyle loaded the elevator. (It wasn’t that big.) Kyle then took up the load and K met him on her floor. Kyle & K then moved everything down the rest of the hallway to her apartment. During that time, Phil continued to haul to just outside the elevator so after the first load, everyone kept going on the assembly line. It worked quite slick! …says the one not carrying boxes. 🙂
(selfish self-portrait but my mom reads this! I’m trying not to look as hot & as tired as I really am at this point.)
And now I see that I don’t have a pix of the full trailer. The one photo Phil asked about. Just imagine every space full, OK?
By 12:05 we were headed back to the UHaul place to return the trailer! Yahoo!!
We returned to K’s place and had permission to leave the truck in the alley the rest of the day. 🙂 We walked a bit to a burger joint for really good cheeseburgers & fries for the others.
Kyle took off to head back to the original haunts and refused my subway money. 
We returned to K’s apartment and found the floor covered in boxes! 
So we knew we had out work cut out for us! I worked in the kitchen, Phil assembled and hung a shoe rack & smashed boxes that were empty, K fed us more boxes and worked in her closet/storage area which is actually quite large!
Finally we had enough floor space for Phil to assemble her bed. It started in that rectangular box I labeled too small in the picture above.
K likes it as a couch!
However, she needs to sleep tonight and I always make the bed when we move her. 🙂 
We took another break and walked the other direction up the main street to look for a supper place. It wasn’t a long walk or a hard look as there are a lot of restuarants right there. We chose one in an old home and enjoyed the woodwork and rooms inside.
After supper and the time in the air conditioning, we walked around for a few more blocks then headed back to the apartment.
This time we went in the front door! 😉
Here is the front yard:
We arranged a few more things but really needed to start the trip back home. A new version out of the city with her new locale landed us in this jam but a great new view of the skyline:
Thankfully this only lasted a few miles and then we had open roads!
About an hour from home, we enjoyed this beautiful sunset as a storm was brewing for later:
Home just after 9 p.m. Exhausted!
So…. at this point the nest feels half empty with her in her new digs. 🙂 She needs more work hours so if you feel led, please pray on her behalf.
and sew on... 