Tuesday, June 14th. The day before we left and the day of Maggie’s, my sister-in-law, birthday. I had stressed about this day for a long time. This was the day of the hardest goodbye, the last drive around Lincoln, the last night sleeping in a home so familiar to me, and leaving everything familiar behind.
This day started out great! Brendan and I got up early and headed to go pick up our moving truck, excited and nervous for what the day had in store. We got to the truck site and parked, inside there was a brown lab office dog waiting to be petted. As I pet this dog Brendan filled out the paper work and paid for the truck. Shortly there after the owner gave us the keys and we headed outside to see how to work everything and put my car on the tow bed behind it. Then, we were on our way for the rest of the day.
Next stop, the weigh station. We drove 40 minutes to go weigh the truck at a weigh station on the interstate; this is where things get a little interesting. Driving down the road a warning engine light comes on (we all know how that feels). Brendan stopped at a gas station on the way and called to see what we needed to do. They told us to take it in to a Penske auto truck repair place. So, after weighing the truck we drove another 30 minutes to go to the repair place.
After pulling in and talking with the repair man and waiting for a little while I realized that the plan I had for the day was trashed and my stress level was beginning to rise. We sat and waited, sat outside and waited, waited in the lobby, and then as Brendan was in the bathroom the repair man came out and told me the news. They needed to drive across town to pick up a special part and then they could work on getting it fixed. And then they said it would take another 2 hours… “2 HOURS!?!?” I thought to myself. So, Brendan and I grabbed my car off of the back of the truck and headed to do the rest of what we needed for the day.
By this time it was around 11 am, and we decided to eat at our favorite place, raising canes! Literally the best chicken in America. After eating we came back home to finish up small things. After a while longer the repair place called us back and said they found something else wrong with the truck, great. So they planned on another truck to come from Omaha for us to use. But, it wouldn’t be ready until 2 o’clock. Brendan left shortly before 2 to get there on time but after some more waiting he called me and said he was still waiting for it to get there… Folks, we were supposed to have this truck packed and ready to go by 1 pm. After 3 pm hit they had gotten the truck there and Brendan finally came home with it around 3:40, yikes!
Brendan was parking the truck in the back and I came out, it was 26 feet long, holy cow! That is the biggest moving truck they had. But, I was just happy it was there for us to pack. We started packing around 4 and my brother Jay and friend Tyler were there to help us pack, thank the Lord. It went by pretty quickly, just under an hour! This had gotten my hopes up.
After the whole truck fiasco we had previously planned to have dinner with my brother’s family for Maggie’s birthday and for one last time eating together. After we picked a place and had gotten ready I was in a bad mood. Tired, stressed out, sad that it was the last time I was going to see my family for a long while, and wanting everything to be over with, moving sucks. We got there and my family calmed me down. We ate at a restaurant called Fireworks. The food was delicious and the time spent with Jay, Maggie and their 3 children, Porter, Piper, and Archer was bittersweet. They even gave Maggie a birthday dessert.
The time came, this was the hardest goodbye. See I had lived with my brother’s family for 2 and a half years! I watched their children grow up and to leave them, oh how it broke my heart. I was going to miss those kids jumping on my bed, their little laughs, my afternoon chats with Maggie, and getting to see my brother more often. It was so hard to imagine because no part of me wanted to leave.
We took a picture with the kids, gave them all big hugs and kisses and then, then I hugged my brother. He said to me “stay strong” and the tears started streaming down my face and I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I hugged Maggie and everyone one more time. We got in the car and waved at our family.
Driving off Brendan asked if I was going to be okay and in a crying voice I said “yes”. We arrived to a mostly empty house and then our close friends came over late to say goodbye. Another goodbye. We reminisced of our memories together the last 3 years and how hard it was going to be not having each other around. They left and Brendan parked the truck in the street, and I have to mention, it was pretty comical watching him park an over sized moving truck in a tiny street, and then he hit a street sign, ha! By the time we were finished it was 12:45 am and we headed for the couch.
As we sat on the couch, Brendan held me as I started to cry again. I was truly realizing that we had said our hardest goodbye. He reassured to me that he was going to make the most of this move out East and do the best he could to be supportive. It was encouraging. As we fell asleep on the couch I knew that waking up was going to be a whole new journey. A whole new journey filled with memories soon to be made, tears to be cried, laughs to be heard, and a new place to call home. Even though this was a hard change to go through we really are trying to make Life Through the Journey one to remember.
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Thanks for reading
~Erin
The Short Wife 
So good, Erin! Keep being vulnerable and sharing your story … that authenticity is beyond encouraging. I love hearing stories from the heart!
LikeLiked by 1 person