Happy Fourth of July 2008!!

Happy Fourth of July 2008!!!! This is a great day in so many ways. Early this morning I was up and ready to move into our new house. The question became, “Who moves on the Fourth of July?” The answer is “me”!!! It is not only the Fourth of July is summer time in Southern California with the temperature reaching near 100 degrees. None of these things matter to me. What mattered most was moving into a house in preparation for the return of my family. I know we had hoped that I would have been back in New Jersey by now especially since there was a big picnic planned at my mother-in-law’s house where my family has been staying for the past two years. Those plans did not come to fruition but come Monday (isn’t that a Jimmy Buffer song?) I will be on an airplane bound for New Jersey.

I didn’t mind missing the picnic, missing all of the Fourth of July activities, nor the heat because I was doing something very important at least for me. I was moving into a home where my family will be living in a very short time. Early this morning I was joined by two dear friends as we loaded up the U-haul truck with the many boxes that had been hibernating in my dear friends’ garage over these past two years. I rented the largest truck they had in hopes of making as few trips as possible. This strategy seemed to pay off but I must say this was a much larger truck (28 feet long) than I had envisioned. All of our boxes certainly fit in this truck quite easily but we have a great deal of stuff!!

Oh my we have a great deal of stuff!!! I couldn’t believe all of those boxes came out of my dear friends’ garage and filled up half of the truck. This was the first part of a three part process as we have our things scattered about three different locations. We loaded the truck and went to the new house where we unloaded the truck. After unloading we went to the second part of the process another dear friends’ house where we had more things stored. The process was repeated and it is amazing how dusty boxes can become after sitting in a garage for two years. I was filthy from the first step and became even filthier on the second step of the process. I could have cared less that I was filthy because everything was coming together quite nicely.

Another set of dear friends stopped by as we were unloading and I gave them a tour of the house. They certainly approved of the house and went home with a zucchini to boot!! There is a vegetable garden in the backyard along with many fruit trees, rose bushes and other assorted plant life. The zucchini was ready to be picked and our dear friend makes a wonderful pasta salad complete with many vegetables and the fresh zucchini will compliment this dish nicely. Our friends and me were very impressed with the backyard and all the work that had gone in to growing all of those wonderful things. My wife and I don’t exactly have “green thumbs” but this is a great time to learn and it would be nice to actually eat homegrown items. I am amazed anything can grow in this climate but I guess the cool evenings balance off the very hot days.

As our dear friends toured the house there were a few “coincidences” (I think not!!) inside the house that were pointed out. I am not big on coincidences and some of these were of the “freaky” variety. I am not at liberty to divulge these at this time because I want my wife to experience them without advance knowledge. I can say this house was made for our family and it is something I have seen since we moved out of our other house two years ago. I believe the mind is a powerful tool and can make most things happen which is exactly what is transpiring. This is all part of some grand Plan and I am “down” for the journey!

We completed two legs of the process fairly quickly but the heat and the fact that there were only two of us doing most of the work was taking its toll. We went over to the storage unit and moved most of the boxes and decided to call it a day. We were able to move a mattress (my wife’s and mine) so I could stay the night in the new house. This will mark (as my mother so astutely pointed out) the first time I will be “truly” alone in almost two years. Yes, I have been separated from my family for the past two years and have been “alone” in that context; however; I have been surrounded by at least one person over the past two years.

I had many “cellmates” and roommates over the last two years. My dear friends allowed me to stay with them for the past four months and even when I was able to stay in a hotel room in Palm Springs and at the National Council for Problem Gambling’s Conference last week I had shared a room and essentially had a roommate. Tonight I will not have a roommate, cellmate, housemate or any other “mate” as I lay down to sleep. My mother told me to enjoy the next three evenings and I will. I will enjoying being alone but am fixated on the arrival/reconnection with my family.

Most of our belongings are in the garage and the furniture is still in the storage units. The plan is to move those things tomorrow morning with some assistance. This is more “professional” assistance and then everything with the exception of my wife, daughter, son and their current belongings will be under one roof. Time does move quickly whether it was counting down the days to the end of my sentence or counting down the days to rejoining my family. This part of the journey is coming to a close and yes, another bright beautiful beginning is soon to commence, WOW!!! Happy Fourth of July to everyone!!!