Last night, Doug told his aunt we'd come out between 1 and 2pm. We anticipated she and/or his cousin and/or the cat would need a ride to the new house.
I asked him this morning what the over/under would be on hearing from her even though she knew what time we'd be coming.
We didn't make it to 10am. I would have taken the under on that. For sure I thought she'd call between the movers' arrival and 10 minutes after their arrival. I was banking on 8:15am at the latest.
She said they were fussing about the amount of stuff (no kidding) and that they weren't going to let her ride out to the new place in the moving truck with them. Like, they were being mean or something but there were probably 3 or 4 guys who would be in the cab of the truck, no room for you lady.
She called again at 12:45 while Doug was taking a disco nap. He said he slept poorly and was up until basically 4:30am, so he was beat before we even got started.
So when we called back, she let us know the movers had taken the truck load to the new house, there is "still a lot" and that she wanted us to give his cousin a ride to the new place where he'd spend the night. We were surprised they were gone so soon. We were anticipating they'd still be there when we got there.
He let her know we'd be there, so we saddled up.
The place is a wreck. There is still so much in there - so much not boxed up, piles everywhere. It does not look much different than when we were there in the past to help try to clean. Doug said upstairs the furniture was all gone, so that was good. Her couch and recliner are still in the living room, surrounded by piles of stuff.
She said they were mad at her that there was so much stuff. Doug laughed because .... of course there is.
I started to have an anxiety attack-ish. I don't usually have anxiety attacks, but, the place stank of mouse pee and the AC was broken, so she had fans going and it just made me super anxious.
There was nowhere to stand or think. The sink was full of dirty dishes (as I predicted) and seriously - there is another truck load of stuff. Even if they box this all up - what's the point.
She has some nice things still there - a really nice bookcase in the corner, a gorgeous quilt shelf with a nice quilt hanging off it. For a while she collected duck decoys for some reason and has them all up on a shelf. These things are good things and should go to the next place, but the rest. I don't know. I think a dumpster is the best option. The trick is knowing what is real and what is trash.
So feeling overwhelmed, I took a walk. I walked around the neighborhood repeatedly, to get 10 min. (the old Dedicated 10) under my belt. I talked to one of her neighbors who moved in back at the end of 2024. She asked about what was going on. She was really sweet, and we had a nice talk.
Doug's aunt said that the movers were coming back (she didn't know when) and they gave her permission to stay at the house so she'd be there in the morning. Doug got a phone call from the lawyer's office saying "G had the movers take what she wanted to keep and they'll be back in the morning to throw out the remaining stuff."
Um. That's not what she said or understands. So I'm anticipating the over/under tomorrow to be right at 8.
I also wondered what size moving truck they had, because to be honest, the amount of stuff in the new place is a lot less than what I'd thought it would be? A box truck? A small truck? Certainly not an 18-wheeler?
Oh and the cat is back so that's a good thing.
She complained that they said they'll be charging her for the move (duh) and that every day she's been there past June 30th. Doug said "that's the documentation you signed. That's what you agreed to. I'm not surprised and you should not be either."
The other thing is her car is at the shop. She thinks it will be fixed and ready for tomorrow. I doubt it. So she is there tonight, and if the car isn't ready? Where's she going? Motel 6? I don't know. She has no plan for the car not to be ready. And especially with a cat - I don't know what hotel allows cats?
Doug's cousin's car was out of commission for months, but is fixed now. However, it is unregistered and uninspected. So technically he shouldn't be driving it. That's why we drove him out west. In theory - he could have driven it. Lord knows he's been driving it for some time unregistered/uninspected. He has insurance on it so one out of 3 ain't bad. But I guess they decided not to risk it.
He has an iPad, and somehow he has internet access on it so... he should be able to get on the DMV website and start the process for whatever the heck Virginia requires.
I wish him well.
Doug's cousin had a few things that didn't make it into the truck, so he put them in our car. And we drove him out to the new place, an hour west of where they are. We got to go on a road we've never driven on before, through Virginia Wine country, where every intersection has a sign pointing to a brewery to the left or right.
We talked the way out there with him. He's a man of few words but we got some understanding of what's going on with him. He quit a job he's had for 15 years, doing the relocation it's a shit commute to deliver pizza. He isn't sure what he's going to look for next. Again, I wish him well.
Doug pointed out that this is pretty much the first time in 48 years he's living somewhere new. I thought about that, and how weird it must be for him. And it made me a little sad but also hopeful for him.
The new place is decent. Half the size of what they had, and it will be a challenge to get the rest of her stuff in there I think. Three bedrooms, so we told him he gets first choice of which one is his. He and Doug walked around the yard, it needs to be mowed, but it is a nice yard. They are a mile from a ton of stuff like Walmart and just about every restaurant you can imagine. So we went to dinner at Mission BBQ, and over to Walmart because his cousin forgot his toothbrush and toothpaste.
I told him to get a pillow. And bed sheets. He's got a twin mattress on the floor, fresh in the plastic wrapper, but no sheets. So he did that. He thought I was buying him a toothbrush (no idea how he got that idea, I bought a multi-pack, so he figured one was for him? Comedy of Errors.) And I told him to buy some food because he could be alone for a couple days without transportation.
He did not buy food.
So Doug has no idea what he's going to do in the morning, or the afternoon. Will he walk a mile to Panera? I have no idea.
We brought him back to the house, and he said thank you.
That in and of itself was a win.
Doug was dog shit tired, so I drove home for us. Thankfully the rain held off, we made it back to a happy dog and happy son.
And we'll see what tomorrow holds. Digits. Below.
digits
exercise: 11/12 hours. Missed 7pm for driving. Walk around Doug's Aunt's neighborhood while having an anxiety attack. 10 min/.43 mi. 7300+ steps by bedtime.
blood glucose:
9am: 86
n/a pm: n/a
10pm: 132
food & meds:
9am: phentermine+jardiance
11:30am: roast beef & mayo on 647 bread
2pm: metformin. Dropped the glipizide in a puddle. oops.
4:30pm: Mission BBQ, brisket w/some bbq sauce, mac & cheese and potato salad
9pm: met+glip
red wine
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