Postponing The POD Pickup

THURSDAY. We've taken advantage of PODS' attentive and accommodating customer service representatives and postponed the POD pickup twice--first from Wednesday until Friday, then once more until Saturday. The POD is getting a lot smaller. By tomorrow night it will be fully packed, whether we've emptied the house or not. The remaining freecycled sofa and dining room set will be removed tomorrow morning by their new owner, leaving the house furnished with only one chair, one twin-sized futon (the dog's car bed), and a TV. My mattress will be crammed into the POD tomorrow afternoon and, as unappealing as it sounds, we'll sleep on borrowed air mattresses Friday night. There's only one motel in Port Charlotte that accepts dogs, but after checking out the rooms I opted for sleeping on an uncomfortable camping mattress over spending a night in a moldy, smelly room.


We've been packing the POD for days, taking our time to fit each piece like a jigsaw puzzle. These days there's nothing as satisfying as a well-packed POD. The downside? It's been beastly hot and humid. Daytime POD temperatures hover around 110 degrees. Gatorade has become our beverage of choice. Storms blow in suddenly and frequently these days, making it difficult to move things into the POD. We seem to constantly be moving things in and out of the POD and draping tarps over furniture in the driveway. Making sense of the packing puzzle means keeping various boxes and pieces of furniture in the carport, waiting for the opportunity to squeeze just the right piece into this space or that. Meanwhile, daily windswept rains threaten to drench those patiently waiting items. Move it here, move it there, move it back, ad nauseum.


Tomorrow morning I'll drive our angel of mercy to the airport for his return flight home. For the remainder of the day M and I will finish up the packing on our own. Somehow we'll manage. The piano is nicely nestled in the center of the POD alongside the washing machine. Items we hope to fit in the POD include two tall file cabinets, an overstuffed chair and ottoman, an antique table, a large dresser, the fridge, and a kingsize mattress. And then there are all those boxes. I have no idea how this will be accomplished, but I'm certain it will involve some sort of divine intervention.

Tonight I gave away a computer. Tomorrow I'll give away the clothes dryer. On Saturday we'll give away the food and some kitchenware.

Earlier this week M sold one car and traded in the other one on a black 2007 Subaru Forester (see the first photo above). I have yet to find 5 minutes to drive it but I hear it's a real smooth drive! Now we each drive a car to NM, staying in touch on the road by cell phone and our new Motorola walkie-talkies.

We are absolutely ready for this move to be over. Murphy is confused, M is cranky, and I'm numb. Just two more nights in Port Charlotte...then we're off to the desert to begin a new life chapter.