Bye, Bye, and Bye

After spending the day having fun on Saturday, Sunday required a little more work. I was up early (5:30, by any standards, surely is early), and the work began.

I sorted through things in the garage, finally, and then set to cleaning my patio furniture. I wanted it clean before being stored for two weeks, and the cushions needed time to dry. So I scrubbed and washed then, with neighbors to the north out of town, set everything in the sun to dry.

Next, it was time for the final mowing. Once that was finished, I mowed the out-of-town neighbors' yard then held the mower, letting it run until it ran out of gas.

After all that outside work, I had to get my inside things sorted--trying to figure out what would stay with me for two weeks. That, of course, had to be separated from anything to be packed.

Finally, I was ready for a shower, and I then got to go join my friend and former coworker Karol for a margarita in Cooper--Young, an eclectic little neighborhood in the southern area of midtown. We visited and had a good time, running into another professor and recent grad as we were leaving.

Monday, of course, brought an even earlier morning. I dropped Howard off at daycare at 7, ran a few errands (such as picking up my dry cleaning---almost forgot that!), then rushed back home to meet the packers.

The packers (only two of them, sigh) arrived about 9, and were they ever happy, in the end, that I had packed as much as I had. The two of them, otherwise, would have been there late into the night.

And fortunately, my driver, Hector, made great progress on getting loaded. He stayed until 5:30, leaving my bed and desk in place, but most all the other furniture was on the truck.

I dashed off to Bosco's for one last IPA, saying good-bye to Worth, Scott, and Craig. Worth gave me a few places to check out in Jax, and then it was back home for me.

For my final night in town, the neighbors and I had decided to head out for pizza at our favorite pizza place on Mud Island. Michael and Tabitha came, and Cole, Michelle, and Morgan all road with me in Gretta---with the top down, of course. We had a great meal with laughter and good times. But as it got late, we had to wind it up.

Driving away, though, we noticed a huge fire across the river. Up for a little adventure, we drove over into Arkansas, looking for the blaze. Without success, we finally stopped and asked. Turns out they'd been burning wheat fields all month, and by then, the blaze was not worth a continued effort.

We got back to my house, and Michael came down, with everyone emptying out my fridge. (I'd already given Cole & Michelle a box of aerosol cans and other miscellaneous things that couldn't be moved and Michael had gotten my propane tank and plants. Sheila got the gas tank.) That done, I was pooped. It was off to bed.

(Ah, and for those wondering, Sophie spent the time while the packers and movers were at the house in my large walk-in closet. There was plenty of room for her crate, food & water, and her litter box at the other end. This seemed the least traumatic set-up possible. She made it through like a champ.)

Tuesday morning, up early again, Howard was back at day care by 7. I grabbed an iced coffee from Starbucks, ran by the post office to drop a card in the mail, and grabbed a couple more Gatorade from the grocery store along with a sandwich for lunch. Hector and Robert arrived before 8, and they got to work.

Just as they finished loading, Kelly from my cleaning group arrived, and she set to work in the bathroom. She cleaned that as I began loading Gretta. Kelly moved on to the floors, spiffing them up for my move out. As she finished, I finished loading. And so, by 12:45, I was driving away from Hawthorne.

I dropped the key and a forwarding address off at the leasing office, picked up Howard, and set out west on I-40.

Adios Memphis. It's been a good year.