Moving process is becoming more efficient
Our son has moved five times since graduating from college in 2017. We’ve been involved in most of the moves, helping as much as we can.
The first move was on graduation day. That was crazy. Even though he lived in an apartment his senior year, he was in campus housing and had to have everything out by graduation night.
We attended the ceremony, took lots of photos, enjoyed a meal together as a family and then loaded all our vehicles. Thankfully, he had everything packed and ready to go. Plus, he really didn’t have that much to load.
From there, we moved him into a Washington, D.C. rowhouse that didn’t seem too far from his new job, but after a few months of walking to the bus stop through the summer heat and rain, he thought a move was in order.
The next stop was a high-rise apartment building closer to work. Thankfully, there was a fast elevator to help with all the trips we made up to his apartment.
Then he moved to a townhouse, but the scheduled move was on a weekend when we were at an out-of-town tournament with our daughter. We didn’t help with that move, but we heard he and his friends had an adventure maneuvering a rented box truck through the streets of D.C.
Adulting equates to learning.
The fourth move was to a one-bedroom apartment a 10-minute walk from work. Because the apartment was small, some of his belongings came home with us. Actually, each time he moved some of his belongings came home.
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This last move, however, might help with some of the items that have been accumulating in his childhood bedroom.
He and his fiancée recently purchased a spacious townhouse in Silver Spring, Md. On a recent weekend, we loaded a rental box truck — he had experience in that area — a van and two cars with most of his possessions and took them to the newly purchased townhouse, where three flights of stairs waited.
My job was easy. I packed the kitchen at the apartment and started the unpacking process at the new townhouse.
Moving this time was more efficient because a friend shared boxes, packaging sleeves and stretch wrap from a recent move. The divided boxes were especially nice for drinking glasses and dishes.
The experience of moving his kitchen in 2022 was different from packing mine from our rental to our new house in 1993. Back then, we had leftover boxes from various stores. Old newspapers served as our packaging material. We didn’t use a box truck. We simply made many trips back and forth.
Young adults typically don’t have that luxury as moves today are made quickly, often in a weekend or a few days. Efficiency is important.
No worries for this upwardly mobile generation. They’ve got the moving process down to a science.
We parents simply try to keep up, be part of the process and share the experience each step of the way.
Lisa Tedrick Prejean writes a weekly column for The Herald-Mail. Email her at lprejean@localiq.com.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: After our son's five annual moves, we've got the process down
