GOOD FRIENDS HELP YOU MOVE, GREAT FRIENDS HELP YOU MOVE BODIES

I should be talking about my move. This is the weekend it went down, after all, and while this post is being written well after the date it's filling, the events of this weekend are still fresh enough and significant enough that I should have a lot to say. And I do, I just don't want to.

This move covered greater distance and more unknowns (physically, mentally, emotionally, academically, ecumenically...) than any previous move and with that came greater stress. So I don't really want to talk about the move.

I want to talk about the movers.

I owe (and am using this forum to provide) a big thanks to the people who helped me move.

I did wine and dine them for their efforts (well "beer and pizza them" would be more accurate, if less poetic) but regardless, thanks are in order.

So thanks.
Thanks a lot.
You guys made a difficult event much easier and your presence (whether you realized it or not) helped me stay in touch with reality long enough to see the job through.

Mike and Sarah (who had already provided most of the boxes), Melissa, Bruce, and Alex helped with the loading (and I have my share of heavy furniture plus more than my share books so it was certainly not an easy process) and, in more cases than should have been necessary, they helped finish up the packing as well. I "supervised" and they handled most of the actual arrangement within the truck. In the roughly thirteen hours that truck spent on the road, only one item was damaged and I did that closing the rear gate before we had even left DC.

Bruce and Bonnie both helped out on days they had to work. In Bruce's case, he lifted heavy objects then went to work (and was the last person to use my shower in that apartment - for whatever that's worth). In Bonnie's case, she had to work a full day first, then showed up later. She arrived after the bulk of boxes had been loaded, but made up for missing the grunt work by providing several goodies for the tired crew.

At the other end of the trip, the Pennocks helped unload everything. This was after they helped me find the apartment in the first place, and after they put us up for the night at their place before I could actually move into the new apartment.

And of course, I have to thank my Sarah. Before the move she helped pack the boxes, including but not limited to almost my entire kitchen. That the plates survived the trip is her doing, and also her influence that the rest of my small stuff did, too (she's the one who convinced me to use the packing paper supplied by Mike and the other Sarah). She helped throughout the day of the move, and then drove my car while I drove the truck. It took us thirteen hours through varying levels of traffic, and the next day she helped unload the truck. Then she stayed four more days to help me unpack, find my way around the new campus, and just begin the process of settling in. Several times she found me just staring at things, unable to decide what to do next, a little shell shocked and she prodded me out of it.

Without the assistance of so many (and I'm including here the support and well wishes of the people who could not be present for whatever reason to provide physical assistance), this would have been a much more difficult transition. I appreciate everything you all did to make this easier for me.

Thank you.