Moving In (Or, Should I Say, Squeezing In)

Downsizing is hard to do, primarily because your offspring will not cooperate.  I will forevermore be envious of those recently departed souls whose children fight over their possessions.  They must have had wonderful taste and I don’t. My children didn’t want anything when we downsized from a four-bedroom house to a condo. 

My son, Jon, an architect in Brooklyn, demurred, because he said my things were too large for his small co-op apartment.  And, I suspect, that they clashed with his pristine, white-on-white, “Brooklyn modern” decor.  My son, Dave, after hard negotiations, was persuaded to take my cherished Chippendale dining room set, but only if I take his chandelier and his sister takes his piano. So the moving van was now minus the dining room table, china cabinet, and six chairs, but added a chandelier and an upright piano. Even after selling a few items on Craigslist, taking many trips to the Salvation Army, and giving things to willing and not-so-willing friends, I was still trying to explain to my husband why we are moving more than 300 items weighing more than 10,000 pounds to fill a small condo in California. But that was just the beginning of our squeezing-in move.

I breathed a sigh of relief as our belongings were loaded on the moving van, supervised by my friend, Sara, in Mechanicsburg and me remotely in California. Here in Cupertino, my new condo’s homeowners’ association (HOA) were pressing me for the exact four-hour window during which the movers will be here. Given the cross-country journey in mid-January through Midwestern states experiencing unprecedented snowstorms and with three or four drop-offs along the way, the moving company gave me a 10-day window. When they were two days away, the movers gave me an estimated arrival time, and I called the HOA and selected an early-morning, four-hour window. I failed to mention that I didn’t think the move would be accomplished in any four-hour window.

The moving van arrives — a  huge 18-wheeler! In order to park in the loading area near the condo elevator, the truck needed to make two 90-degree turns so it will be in the lane parallel to Stevens Creek Boulevard. The driver of the moving van (who was the independent owner and in charge of moving the furniture) concluded that there is no way his truck could get into the loading lane. The HOA manager suggested parking in the side street a block away, but the driver balked at having to haul our furniture an extra block, and I was not crazy about that idea, either.

Someone suggested parking right on Stevens Creek Boulevard, and we spent some time chasing that option. It required paying $265 for a special parking permit and having enough parking cones to set off a 200-feet stretch away from the truck. We were all getting exhausted by them, it was past noon, and the driver was calculating the overtime. He suggested that he come back two days later and rent a U-Haul to move the furniture from his moving van, which will be parked on the side street, to the elevator. Deal!

Two days later, the movers came bright and early, and the parade of furniture and boxes into the condo began. Soon every spot in the condo was filled, except for some strategically located trails. Some problems popped up. Despite the movers’ valiant efforts, they were not able to get some of the furniture destined for upstairs around a hairpin turn in the stairs. We agreed to have two of the strongest men come back the next day, disassemble the furniture, take it upstairs, and reassemble it there.  Also, the armoire from our king-sized bedroom set needed to go somewhere else: There was no room in the bedroom, and, as it was made in one piece, it cannot be taken apart and reassembled.

There was no question the move was painful, but was it worth it?  Emphatically, yes! After all the issues were ironed out, my husband and I are happily settled in our beautiful Cupertino condo with all our familiar belongings around us. We are surrounded by our books and paintings, the armoire is nestled in a corner of our living room, and my son’s chandelier swings in our dining area. After a big change in your life, it is comforting to have old and familiar things around, like your old and familiar husband.