Moving day

What a week it has been! Once again, bed is calling and there is still a list of things to tie up before calling it a day. The fire will be lit around 5:30 a.m. tomorrow morning to kick of the 2022 hog butchering weekend here at Tangly Woods. I think we are mostly logistically ready, but I don't feel I've taken the time to emotionally prepare for the weekend - maybe tomorrow morning by the fire for a bit before dawn breaks? 

This third post in the string of catch-up-posts is about our 24 hour whirlwind trip to the Mountain House to bring the final load of Mom and Dad's things back to Tangly Woods. On Tuesday, Dad and Jason headed over ahead of us gals in the moving truck and by the time we got there they were already busy packing. We joined in and all agreed that the Tangly Woods' movers made a pretty good team. Jason was most definitely the expert packer in the truck and we kept him busy bringing him whatever shaped objects he was next needing to fill some crack or crevice. Everything fit with some room to spare! The bigger people were more focused on packing. The littler people were enjoying the truck ramp!

We even had time to enjoy a couple meals there together, a game of turkey feet (with dominos), a brief visit to the labyrinth, and some swing set time before heading back east towards home. In many ways it felt like any other time there and in other ways felt so laden with the emotions of saying goodbye to a home that had been such a source of comfort, connection, beauty, sacredness, meaningful relationships, healing and so much fun and laughter. Of course our hope is that Tangly Woods can be a home with similar qualities for Mom and Dad in the years to come, even if there is no doubt that it will ever be a replacement for the Mountain House of Hope.

The time was short and it was hard to pull ourselves away Wednesday, but there was also some eagerness to get on the road and start the process of getting what we had loaded unloaded. Once again Jason and Dad led the way and we were off soon after them with Kali at the wheel. 

She drove a short stint to start and end both of our trips.

Back at home, Terah was a very eager helper (proclaiming boredom any time we could not immediately find something that was suitable for her to carry). The emptying of the truck went much faster than the loading. 

But now the "fun" of sorting, organizing, and finding homes for everything is underway. We will have to hit pause on helping with most of that for the next two days until the bulk of hog butchering wraps up. The garage and shop reorganization is on the docket for early next week. 

It felt really good to be involved in this stage of the process and to have the girls along as active participants. It felt like a lot of hard work and a lot of love was exchanged. There's nothing that can make this big and important time of transition easy, but it can be easier when it is shared.