Fiasco Weekend

We knew the weekend was going to blow, but goodness. The hurricane on Friday managed to really rip through James Island and knock down lots of big trees and blow out the power. We all lost power around lunch time and discussed via text what was going on outside of our homes. While Brett and I found the idea of spending our last night in our first home via the flickering glow of candlelight to be a romantic notion, we didn't realize it was actually a foreshadowing of the events to come. 

Meanwhile, over at Mom and Dad's house, once the power went out, Dad fired up the generator and they carried about their business while water rushed into the home through the roof. I believe I heard there were 12 different leaking spots. Dad was busy poking holes in the ceiling to relieve the water pressure when their carbon monoxide alarm set off. "It's the generator exhaust," Dad suggested, so they turned that sucker off and hung out in the dark. Then they got into a big fight about whether or not they should sleep there that night. 

Mom arrived at our house at 9:30pm and spent the night on a mattress on the floor in the guest room with our new kitten. (Have I mentioned the kitten yet? More on him later.) Our power came back on that night but Ellen's stayed out until midday on Saturday. Last time I checked on her, she was sitting in the car charging her phone.

Saturday Post-Storm Move Day. 

Mom got up and scampered out of our house before we could put her to work. Brett and I needed to pick up our Uhaul at 10:00 so for some reason he decided to go ahead and load my 4runner with things even though I was just dropping him off at the rental place and then going home again. This made us late for pickup but Brett still insisted on getting breakfast somewhere. We had to visit three restaurants to find one that was open. That place took 40 minutes to give us two egg sandwiches and then finally, one hour late we arrived back at our house where Ellie and Caroline had been waiting 45 minutes for us. They set to work right away loading the truck with the big heavy things while I tried to pack up the kitchen even though we'd run out of boxes a week ago. (I refuse to pay for boxes.) The kitten who just joined our family on Wednesday, has been kept in his own room to protect him from the dogs. We left the girls outside while we loaded the truck and stuffed the kitty from room to room as we cleared each one out. 

I left to pick up lunch for our "all-female and Brett" moving crew and met them at the new rental. I was excited to see it. I wondered what sort of "light-filled dump" Dad had found for us. Before I arrived, Dad called and said, "Remember when you drove across the country and stayed in those roadside motels?"
"Yeah?"
"Keep your expectations there."

Dad has high standards so I figured it wouldn't be all that bad. He and Mom had been over there cleaning all morning. When I arrived with the lunch, I walked into a conversation about "the smell." Long story shortened, we were about halfway through unloading the truck when Brett admitted he didn't want to stay there. This allowed Ellie and Caroline to pipe up with their thoughts on the matter which were, "We wouldn't stay here either." See, the last tenants really trashed the place. They never cleaned anything and they left a huge pile of dirty crap in the front yard. The backyard was full of glass, the walls had suspicious smudges, and there was "the smell." While I could only smell the distinct scent of stale marijuana smoke, everyone else including Mom and Dad could smell bowel issues. Brett suggested vomit as well. Brett and I stood in the moving van while we discussed.

"I get it, but where will we stay?" I asked.

"Our house," Caroline said from the yard, "You just stay at our house. Don't sleep here. You might not wake up."

"What about the dogs?"

"Oh yeah," Caroline looked at Ellie who just shrugged. 

"Who do we know that doesn't have pets? What if we just tear out the stinky carpet? It's going to be replaced next month anyway," I suggested.

"Maybe," Brett said. 

I went inside and stopped Mom from continuing the cleaning. "Brett doesn't want us to stay here. He thinks we'll wind up with respiratory issues," I whispered to her, so Brett wouldn't feel embarrassed.

"I don't blame him," Mom whispered back. "This place is gross."

And it was. You know when you go into a space and you don't want to touch anything or sit down because you think it's going to be sticky? Like an invisible gom will cling to you when you stand up again? That's what this place was.

So we decided to go ahead and use it as a storage unit for our stuff and find a place to sleep our new family of five furry beings. We finished unloading that truckload and a second one and then we finally dismissed Ellie and Caroline. There was still lots to pack back at the house and it was already 5:00. Sometime in there Dad went to the doctor for a cough he's had and found out he has bronchitis. Brett took a load of tools to Dad's garage and came back with news that Erik said we can stay at his place. We had to do a mini-repack to pull out the things that we'd need while at Erik's (clothes, pet supplies, work files, computers) and everything else would go to the stinky rental. Towards the end of the day as I prepared one final load to take to the Stank Palace, it occurred to me that I hadn't seen Grace in a while. The girls have been nervous and clingy since the packing began and it would be just like Grace to punish me for her discomfort. I searched the yard but only found Pippa. Grace had escaped. 

Long story shortened, amongst the downed the trees and power lines and post-storm debris, I found Grace pawing at some garbage down the street. It was a brief panic but it was the cherry on an iffy day. 

Finally, at the end of the day, Brett realized we had a lot of work to do to get the house empty and clean before Monday. (Simple.) Erik happens to be out of town so we moved into his place in a way that would have been rude to do in front of him. The amount of stuff - the audacity to move his things to the side to make room for ours - putting a kitten and litterbox into his office without really discussing it first. I felt bad about it. We finally stopped working at 9:00, took showers, and climbed into our double bed with two nervous dogs. We did not sleep. (The kitten did though. He's extremely easy going.)

Sunday was the worst day. Already a little sore and very tired, we were up early packing more crap. Something came over Brett and he got more stuff into my car than I thought possible. On this day we had the last few things to take to the Booger Bungalow, a small pile to take to Erik's, the whole house to clean (with paint touch up included) and then... the garage and flower shop. 

Precious, long-suffering Mama tackled the house while Brett and I loaded the garage into the Uhaul. Dad arrived with some young people to clean up our yard and Ellen popped in to watch us all work.

Highlights of this day include:

-An additional escape by Grace - caught immediately by neighbors

-Throwing away lots of Lux stuff because I just decided I was done with it. 

-Dad refusing to go home and rest even though he looked very sick - Ellen called him "Bronchy"

-Brett gave me a milkshake

-The new owners began harassing me for a time to come pick up the keys - I became irate about it. "Don't you see were working on it!" (I didn't say that.)

-A final load to the Blowout Cabin

Around 7:00pm, I had adrenaline keeping me going but Brett was just exhausted. We made it out to West Ashely to turn in the Uhaul. (Turns out the place closes at 6:00, so...) At 8:00 we ate a quick supper at the old house, took a load of tools to the new house, filled my car to the brim with crap, and then came back to Erik's to feed the dogs. At 10:00, I slipped on a dangling sleeve as I carried an armload of clothes up the stairs and it was the last straw. Hot rage filled my ears, exhausted tears filled my eyes. Brett looked at me and said, "No. Don't do that. You're done, ok? You're done for the day."

"Oh!" I snapped, "I'm sorry my feelings are a burden to you!"

"Give me that and go shower. You. are. done."

I whimpered into the bathroom and came out feeling fresh. 

"Sorry I cried."

"It's ok."

See I still had to go back Monday morning to empty the fridge and get the last pile of things that we couldn't fit in the car. The new owners wanted me to meet them at 7:30am so they could start their move and I said, "crap on that." So sweet, long-suffering Mama got up to help touch up paint and load plants while I cleaned the pantry and fridge. We were just loading up Ms. Wilhelmina Pigglesworth when the new people arrived at 9:00, acting like they owned the place and all. 

I went back to Erik's and fell asleep with all my pantry goods and hoses and ladders still in the car. I was so tired and achy and just the littlest bit sad. Brett had to go to work all tired and achy and just the littlest bit sad. All of our belongings are divided between 5 different homes and you know we left things in the wrong houses. Today I am tasked with visiting the Diarrhea Dwelling to gather a handful of things that need to go to other places. There is still a ladder, a vacuum, and two hoses in my car that I don't know what to do with. My back hurts and the girls are uncomfortable at Erik's so they keep following me around and slipping on the wooden stairs and staring at me while I sleep.

 

I'm so relived that the worst part is over and that Erik's place is clean and spacious. Erik gets back to town next week which is when I'm headed out of town, so all of this can be Brett's problem soon. I don't know how he'll manage all the animals with being at the office all day. Last time I left town there was a brawl that resulted in discovering Pippa's auto-immune disease. Now there is a bite sized kitten tantalizing the girls with his gentle meows. 

Who knows how this will go.

Contractor Dad (who is feeling better, by the way) thinks he can get us into our new place by Nov 1 - even if we don't have all the parts and pieces just yet. And that suits us just fine.