Second from the left .... the new meaning of Guard Dog

See the dog
See the Reneguard uniform
See the guard dog
no?

As of this weekend I’m officially no longer a tree-hugging resident of Davis. I’ve moved to Sacramento (well barely, it’s actually the last possible Sacramento exit off the freeway before Elk Grove) but it’s bigger, better and brighter than the last place and everything there works. Yeah! The house is great, the neighborhood is intimidating by most folks standard … eh so what … and I’m happy we’re there. I had several watershed realizations over the course of the move this weekend. Attributing a proverb to each began accidentally enough and eventually became a kind of game so I thought I’d share.

“Everything happens for a reason” …
I don’t have a fancy refrigerator (more on that later) and so our ice cubes come from a plastic tray … like most normal people’s probably do. We had an enormous need for ice this weekend during the move and so I kept rushing ice cube production … meaning I was using them before they were ready. I’d fill the tray with cold water, stick it in the freezer and come back in a couple of hours and use whatever there was. After about 4 rotations of this I realized there was no rhyme or reason to which of the little cubes would freeze totally and which would not. I had filled the trays the exact same way each time and put them in the freezer in the exact same place and yet different cubes froze each time. The randomness of it made me liken ice cube production to vehicle accidents and tornadoes … you know what I mean, where the bus crash survivor whose seat partner and six other people in the vicinity were killed in the crash while they didn’t even get a scratch, or the poor schlock whose house trailer was swept away into the gulf by the tornado but his neighbor’s trailer is still intact and wagging it’s tongue at him. I can’t help but be continually surprised by life’s randomness, from water freezing to tornado touch downs, and wonder about its’ purpose.

“The best laid plans of mice and men oft go astray” …
Last July, my son Chris, in a dedicated quest to make our commute life easier, got a job around the corner from our house in Davis AND signed up for all his college courses at the Davis extension campus this year. Now it’s September and we’re moving. I think you can fill in the rest. He is at the end of his rope and I’ve asked him to tie a knot and hang on until we get his car out of the shop.

“It never rains but it pours” …
Wishing Alanis Morisette was paying attention because she doesn’t REALLY get it, here’s something truly ironic. Long story short I needed to leave my refrigerator at the old house. I ran myself ragged for several days prior to the move looking for a refrigerator. I tried to buy one used but nothing I could afford was for sale. I couldn’t afford to buy one brand new right now and I finally settled on just renting one for now. Believe me, the guys working to organize peace between the Arabs and Israelis have nothing on me and my skill in organizing the rental and delivery of this refrigerator to the new house. Finally, last Friday, $30 poorer and 3 days older I had a refrigerator in place. Breathe a sigh of relief and case closed, right? Not so fast. As we’re moving Saturday my husband comes home from walking Teddy and tells me the apartment complex across the street has at least a dozen nice looking, working refrigerators sitting by the dumpster that they’re getting rid of because they’re remodeling some of their units. What? So we go over and pick up two (just in case) perfectly wonderful working refrigerators and take them to the new house. Now I just have to change the rotation of the earth on its’ axis and get the rented refrigerator picked up. The contract says you can return it anytime with no penalty but if that really happens … well let’s just say “surprised” wouldn’t begin to cover it. I can’t regret the $30 I spent already knowing there’s hundreds that I’ll save. The now “spare” fridge will most likely go in the newspaper and be sold to some other poor, crazy, stressed female looking to populate her kitchen with a fridge …. my chance to give something back, right?

“The best things in life aren’t things” …
You know when you get in those moods where you start reflecting on your life’s accomplishments and have those self-deprecating thoughts of “I should have more than I do blah, blah, blah”. Well when that happens next time ….. move … cause you have no appreciation for how much crap you really DO have until you move it. Every time I move it’s like trying to fit 10 gallons into a 5 gallon bucket. It’s an enigma. I’ve apparently accomplished a lot more than I give myself credit for … at least based on the magnificent number of cardboard boxes I can fill with my crap.

Ever diligently focused on eating the elephant one bite at a time, with the move finally over it’s time to turn my attention to finding the $1000 I need to get Chris’ car out of the shop.

Whee!