Living arrangements, moving, a short trip

Mama and I are meeting the home inspector at the house this evening to go over with him his findings from the inspection he is supposed to start at about 2 pm. We will not with meet him until about 5 pm. I do not expect any huge surprises.  We should get a thorough look at the house by virtue of the inspection. Mama and I are both anxious to go back to the house and reaffirm what we think we saw when we looked at it the first time.

One thing is abundantly clear; I need to provide a separate living quarters for Grandma and Grandpa. In their insistence that that church is a lost cause and church goers are worse than many of the drunks they have known over the years, many if not most conversations quickly becomes intolerable – regardless of what topic the conversation started on.

So, I will spend sixty or seventy thousand dollars to provide a place to live for Mama’s parents, who have made no provision for their own care, in order to protect Mama from being constantly caught in the middle between me and them. I do not resent the need to provide for Grandma and Grandpa. Mama and I have known it was coming for years; they have exhausted all their means trying to support Norman and Seth.

At some point in the near future we will begin packing in earnest but to this point there has been very little done. Grandpa and Mama are formulating a plan to get the big items to the new property but those items are not my worry. Mama and I talked last night and I told her my worry was over the items that had to be individually wrapped and packed – the dishes and glasses, the knick-knacks, the pictures and clocks, the silverware, the pots and pans and pie plates, the canned goods in the cabinets, etc. All of those things have to be put safely in boxes to be handled in a move.

The garage shelving, the wardrobes and dressers, washer and dryer, desks, chairs and beds can be easily moved. It is all the small things that take a large effort and a great amount of time. Fortunately it will be a quick move –from one house to another only twenty minutes away vs a move from one state to another. So the care required to pack will be significantly reduced.

Thing are looking like we will be able to close by the 14^th but no later than the 21^st. Then Mama and I have a lot of upgrades to make in the new house and things can be taken to the new house as we are working on those items so we can stage the move in smaller, manageable portions.

Today Mama, Grandma and Grandpa are scheduled to do a practice run to the dentist in south Ft. Worth today. Grandma will be going to get her teeth pulled – five of them – on Tuesday of next week while Mama and I are in Amarillo/Dumas. That is, if Mama feels she can go with me on that trip. With Allie due to deliver sometime in the very near future and Grandma’s worries over missing her appointment, Mama is in high demand.

We are going to Fredericksburg this weekend with the seniors from the church. It will be a Friday and Saturday trip staying overnight somewhere in the area. Mama is very much looking forward to the trip. Since the area is known for its arts and crafts we will not come home empty handed.

Mama is already asking for a budget for the trip.