Put all of your shit in a box

I had known that I was moving for years. So why did I accumulate so much stuff? The simple answer is that I didn't realize I had accumulated so much stuff. Being a pack rat is a complicated thing. I will not assume that I could explain my own personal flavor of packrathood in a blog. That should be reserved for some drunken night when I think I know how to excuse my weaknesses to an understanding friend.
When Tim and I set the final date for our move, and subsequently pushed it up by two days we had no idea what were were getting into. All of my moves had been accomplished by a car or van. Though I've always been a pack rat, I have mostly confined my ugly habit to the realms of ephemera...mostly. Somehow I had let my lust for old mostly useless things get the better of me and my space. Consequently, nothing could prepare me for the kind of packing that lay ahead.
We did everything wrong or late. We kept wanting one last party...one last visit..forgetting that our stuff would not pack itself. So, the day our friends converged to help us there was stuff everywhere! I watched out of the corner of my eye as Alex took down decorations that I didn't even realize were there. Katie and Jeani formed a team in the junk room and frantically tried to make sense of it, while whispering promises to themselves about getting rid of there own "stuff". Jay, organized a rotating team of people who graciously did a lot of the heavy lifting Jeffry, Andy Cherwick, Donny Chambers, Aarron Walters, Kenny, John, Noah, and Mark...just to name a few. While Brian Causy expertly packed one of Tim's guitars, Jamie was painstakingly organizing anything she could through the allergies that seemed to be plaguing everyone. Cori and Jessica made snack packs and joined in with their little ones. You would have thought we were paying these people!
I had never imagined that moving would be such a communal effort. It made it harder to leave. Watching Vicky and Sali play in our back yard, seeing everyone for the last time as our neighbors.
Thanks to everyone who helped pack, wished us well, or took pictures of people doing the above (Jason and Beth).

Here is a link to a little video we put together to commemorate the event.
<<;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X441ZiU-8m8>