Moving Day or Mission (Nearly) Impossible

Moving Day or Mission (Nearly) Impossible.                       5-11-2014

By John W. Vander Velden

Just how much “stuff” does someone need to exist on campus?

Well, it was a great deal more than I ever imagined.  We had used a truck to move Nick to Purdue last August.  We really didn’t need the crew cab Ford, but it was nice to have plenty of space to cart the things vital for living.  You know the “stuff” that one simply cannot live without.  Things like a Kerrig Coffee Maker, microwave oven, and two shelving units.  The futon and loft – that is a bed – had been delivered.  The futon purchased the bed rented.  All the same computers – that’s right plural – clothing, rug, and bedding, among the rest seemed a sizable collection.  Greg supplied the TV – 42 inch plasma – and a nice refrigerator.  From the naïve point of view, I assumed we would be taking “stuff” back home with us that day, for surely there could not be space sufficient in the “closet” that these two young men would call home for the next nine months.  But when we left Greg and Nick had the space organized and as unbelievable as it was everything fit, even allowing room for them – and as we learned later up to ten of their closest friends – hmmm…

Now you and I know that things happen while living, and among the things that happen is the accumulation of “stuff”.  Nine months might not seem long to us, but to those that are living on their own for the first time it can be a lifetime.  So we add chairs for company, a ladder to climb into the bed, four packages of paper – which it turns out were not needed, a few extras like spare deodorant, laundry detergent, and the list goes on and on.

When we arrived at Harrison on Saturday morning there was so much “stuff” in the hallway; we could not imagine that it had in one time fit within the confines of the dorm room.  We had come down with two vehicles, a Jeep Grand Cherokee and a Chrysler PT Cruiser.  Both, though not large, very capable vehicles.  We had used the PT to cart all manner of things in the past.  Honestly with the seats flipped down you can haul an eight foot step ladder – but no passenger.  And with the Jeep’s seats flipped forward, it seemed cavernous – well sorta’.

Nick felt certain there would be no need to disassemble a thing – I knew better. The first thing we carted down the four flights of stairs, out the back door, down another set of stairs, across the parking lot and then the street, into the parking garage and finally into the back of the Jeep was the futon’s frame – hmmm… “There’s plenty of room.” I was told – I knew better.  We returned back the way we came, stairs and all. When we returned to the yet overflowing room, Nick suggested I go back and take apart the futon – which I had suggested in the first place, so I returned – stairs, parking lot, street, etc. and did what I do best, tear things apart.

A parking space opened up – closer – much closer – so the Jeep filled that vacancy.  Now the vehicle is quite capable, but it was not permitted to climb the stairs – all four flight and outside set, but a hundred yards closer is a hundred yards all the same.   

It became my primary job to turn large objects into smaller parcels and find ways to load the “stuff”.  Once the Jeep had been filled to capacity – and you might be surprised just how much it takes to fill the vehicle – we exchanged it for a much smaller Chrysler.  All the same with its seats down there is quite a bit of room – though it required a bit of rearranging, to load the last – a vacuum cleaner – and still have space for two.  Packed to the ceiling, all the “stuff” successfully loaded, we bound for home almost three and a half hours after arriving on campus.  By practice we knew the way back and forth and found that the rear view mirror not really required.  However each time I glanced that way I jumped a bit at the image of the Dirt Devil that filled the view. 

The sun shone on a beautiful spring afternoon as we set off leaving Purdue behind for the summer.  Following the two hour drive home, Nick unloaded most of the “stuff” into the space that had been our basement, and would be again once our world returns to an appearance of organization.  Hmmm….  

Life is an adventure.  I suspect it is best treated that way.  Saturday was just a page of a yet unwritten script that will lead us to new things.  Some of the things we will face might go smoothly – or seem easy.  Other tasks might take a bit more planning and effort.  And then there will be those days when the job doesn’t seem really possible.  But one step at a time – a baby step perhaps – and we will find that “nearly” impossible is not impossible!

I hope you will have a happy moving day – because we did!

(860 Words)