Being the Good

Today’s move was an odd one, but in a good way.

Family of 6, mom, dad, boys 18 and 16 as well as girls 13 and 12. They had some stuff, two beds, a lamp, odds and sods, so we filled in the gaps. The crew consisted of Billy Dankos, Joe Ferrante, Brian Hinkle, Andre Jackson, Bob Kane, Paul Smith, and “newbie” John Volmer who is more used to giving orders than taking them but proved he knows how to be part of a team as well.

Pam Collins, Lisa Johnson, Cathy Monge, Marian Moriarty signed up, and Barb Emanuele found she could be there at the last minute and so she was.

The father met us at the door when we arrived and said he was so grateful for all we were doing for him but begged our indulgence in that he wanted his kids to do the lifting and unpacking once they got home from school. And he meant he wanted them to do it all — make their own beds, wash the kitchen supplies and put them away. Everything.

This news was greeted with pleasant surprise by some of the crew, bewilderment by others, but respectful understanding by all. Well, not quite all.

Cathy Monge is the kind of person who knows when a job is done, and she moves on to the next one. Lisa Johnson is a “nester” who wants everything organized before she is through, and I could sense her heart palpitations when she was told she would have to leave before the job was done. Fortunately, there were others there to talk her down from the ledge.

Wednesday, we have a mother and two children, a boy 13 and a girl 6. Mom works and won’t be home until 5:00 so we are moving the move to 5:30 at the storage unit. We had most of a crew when the time was 4:00, but we may lose some with the time change, so let me know if you can make it.

Be the good that someone else needs. Who’s in?