100th Post: being a helpful helper

For the past few weeks I've been helping my mom move stuff from her apartment to her new house. She's been in the buying process for what seems like forever, and she finally got the keys I think the second week of May. It's a brand-spanking new four-unit condominium, and she had a say in some of the specifications of the interior of hers (the type of wood trim and cabinets; how many outlets and where; a fireplace).

For roughly four days out of seven for the past three weeks she's picked me up in the morning and Matthew, Mom and I pack up the apartment into boxes, load them into her car, drive to the new place and then unload. The going's been slow because we usually only manage one trip a day, so lately I don't hold back on stuffing her car as full as possible to make up for it. I stay the night every few days to save Mom the time of coming to pick me up, this past week especially because she has to be out of the apartment by the 30th. She picked me up this past Wed and I spent that night and Thur night, so three days/two nights spent altogether. I took today off because I needed a break. It wasn't just the time spent there, with her always nagging Matthew and not giving him a chance to use the brain in his head. Mom rented a truck for Fri to move all the big stuff (i.e. beds, a small freezer, the entertainment center and tv) and Lotis and her husband Renato came over to help. I'm assuming the truck was a stick-shift, otherwise Mom could've driven it. So driving, along with most of the heavy lifting, was Renato's job. Lotis carried the spare and left-behind things (shelves, pieces of bed) to the truck while the men (Renato and Matthew) took the heavy stuff.

Lotis being there wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Until now I've only seen her around Messengers with her no-nonsense, "I'm the boss" persona so I was afraid she'd be that way at Mom's too. Not so much. I was also anxious because I'd heard Dave might be coming over later. He didn't, and I was both relieved and disappointed. A week ago I would've just been disappointed but like I said, spending three days at Mom's took its toll on me psychologically. I felt the same aversion to people that I did on the way back from Canada with Messengers. This time it's just toward Dave and Lotis and I think I know why, but I'm not getting into that now.

Yesterday, Fri, Mom and Matthew spent their first night at the new place. Matthew really wanted me to spend the night again but I said I needed a break, a night sleeping in my own bed (not to mention a shower). Tomorrow she's picking me up early so we can get a full day in and I'll probably spend the night at the new place. What I keep looking forward to with great anticipation is this coming November when Messengers goes to the Philippines. Mom said I can stay at her place and house/pet sit. I'll have the place to myself for a week. Sounds like fun.