Of Preparing, Packing and Pelicans

As I sit on the floor of 95% empty apartment, reality is slowly taking hold. All of my stuff is packed. Most of it is on it’s way to Pittsburgh. Today is my last day at work. I am saying my good-byes. I think surreal would be a good word to describe it.

Lots of preparation over the past few months has gone into getting to this week. Getting boxes from work, calling U-haul a dozen times trying to get everything in order, making sure my things are separated into three categories: going to Pittsburgh, going with me, not leaving my sight because I need it for the wedding. Who knew that a lifetime full of moving every two years would prepare me for this day. Move number 16.

Packing is second nature to me. It’s oddly comforting to sit in a room full of boxes that contain most of my earthly belongings. And I’ve been doing that for two weeks. I started packing a couple of weekends ago and finished this past weekend. It wasn’t a lot of trouble, really. I always enjoy getting rid of things. My stress came in trying to determine if everything would fit in the U-box I had rented. I have a terrible time reading dimensions or distances. I went back and forth for days: yes, it will fit/no, it won’t fit. I thought about it most of Tuesday night after my assistant pastor graciously towed the thing up to my apartment for me. The next morning, several people from camp showed up to help me get it all in. And thanks to Aaron’s years of working at Fed Ex…it all fit!!!! He took it back to St Cloud for me, and it is now on it’s way to Pittsburgh. Relief!

I guess if I had known I would get it packed and shipped so early (so that it will actually get there before or not long after I get to Pittsburgh), I would have planned on leaving Minnesota earlier. But I have my fridge to clean out, more than enough clothes with me and since camp just replaced all the mattresses in the cabins, I hauled a couple over to my apartment to sleep on. My kind of camping: indoor plumbing!

So, everything is headed to Pittsburgh. I received confirmation that my address has been changed by the USPS and my mail is being forwarded to Pittsburgh. And on Tuesday, I start heading that direction myself. Yep, I guess I really am getting married.

But while I’m leaving Minnesota, a whole squadron of pelicans has moved in. I don’t use the word “squadron” because there’s so many of them but because that’s what you call a group of them. And they’ve taken up residence on the beaver dam at camp. It’s pretty amazing to see them all roosted on top of the dam, napping until it’s time to swim or fly off to eat or go to their permanent nests for the evening. There’s about twenty of them, more than I’ve ever seen at once. And while we’ve been enjoying them, I’m not sure what the beavers think. I don’t know if I’d like twenty huge, white birds sitting on my roof, but maybe they’re charging rent!