Week 42 - Moving Day for the Lairs

Margaret, Judy, Kyle and Jaimee at the end of a long morning

Great-grandkids enjoying the back of the U-Haul

      Once again, there was no card in the retirement deck for this blog, but who could have foretold this adventure and how many people took part in it.  Jim and Margaret (Grandma and Grandpa J) picked a beautiful weekend to move from their home on a lake in Dahinda to a home in Mendota.  Bill and I got up at 5 am that Saturday morning and drove the three hours to Dahinda to help with the moving.  By the time we got there, there were already several of their children, children's spouses, grandchildren, grand children's spouses and friends to help with the packing.
     Many boxes and off-season clothing had already been boxed and moved to the new house during the previous months.  But during the course of the morning, we managed to fill a U-Haul and another trailer to over-flowing.  In addition, we had the trunks and backseats of all of our cars packed.  Who knew they had that many possessions in their kitchen and garage?
     We left Dahinda in a caravan of five vehicles, traveling over country roads, to their new home in Mendota. When we arrived, we were all tired and hungry already - and we hadn't even unpacked anything yet.  But Barb and Margaret had thought ahead and had lots of food for us.  Barb's daughters and daughter-in-law fixed sandwiches and salads and desserts and we all got our energy back
      Jim flew in from California for the week.  Jeff
picked him up and they drove to Mendota in

Grandpa J looking at home in his new home

time to help unload the vans.  For this job there

1004 Wisconsin Avenue, Mendota, Illinois 61342

was LOTS of help.  The great-grandkids were
enthusiastic and excited about helping the adults, so the job went pretty quick.  Jim and Margaret were directing traffic inside the house.  "Where does this box go, Margaret?"  "Do you want this table in the dining room or downstairs?"  "Is that all the closet space you have in your bedroom, Jim?"  "Are you sure there is going to be space for your car in the garage with all these boxes in there?"  But they handled the stress and all the questions and confusion like troopers.  They could often be seen bent over talking earnestly with one of their great grandchildren who had something of utmost
importance to tell them.
     As afternoon was ending and evening was making an appearance, the living room was arranged to be pretty comfortable.  Grandpa J was in his recliner - facing the TV - but cable wouldn't be connected for another day. 
     As Bill and I left (we still had another 3 hours to drive home) I turned around and took a picture of the house.  Jim and Margaret were inside.  All the rest of the family was inside.  The lights were on in all the rooms.  It was looking....homey.  After only one day, the house had become a home.