My Aching Back!

We are now in the final stages of preparing for our move to Nashville and it is rapidly becoming a true test of our marriage. It seems that Barb and I have an entirely different understanding of how to pack for a move.

Since our condo is considerably smaller than our home in Montpelier, much of what we own is going to have to go into one of those self-storage units. I am placing items in the storage unit in neat rows so that it resemsbles a mini Wal-Mart. There is an advantage to that. Whenever Barb wants to go "shopping" in Nashville, all I have to do is take her to "Belden's Bargain Bin" and let her shop to her hearts delight. If she sees something she likes, she just takes it home. If it doesn't like it in the condo then she simply returns it ... no receipt required. I figure she will never even remember she once owned half of the stuff in the storage unit, so things will always seem new to her!

Anyway, in preparing things for the storage unit we have puchased dozens of brightly colored plastic bins. I like these because the lids will fit tight and should hold up better than a cardboard box. Unfortunately, these are not cheap and thus the misunderstanding of the English language begins. It all centers around the word "full." In Barb's mind, a bin is "full" when every single micrometer of space has been replaced with something other than air. If you can squeeze in a toothpick there is still space, so she packs in more stuff.

On the other hand, I believe a bin is "full" when I can bend over and lift it!

Last night I tried to lift on of the bins Barb had listed as full. The tearing and ripping sound my back made was only exceeded by the decibel level of my screaming. As I writhed on the floor in pain, I tried to kick at the bin, damaging both legs when they met the immovable object. Later when I crawled over and opened the bin I discovered she had packed in reams of copy paper ... surrounded by bricks. Then she apparently poured in gravel to fill in the space.

I'll write more once I get out of orthopedic rehab!