Thinking back to the events that led up to this, I realized I had no choice. This small home was all we had, along with forty thousand in the bank. I inherited this home from my Grandma when she passed away. When we went to move in a month ago, I started to talk about packing the house, and when I said I could add my husband's things into boxes to share, he said, "Make sure our things are separate."
I asked him, "Why, babe?"
He gave me a smile and said, "Because I have to stay behind until they grant me the transfer. Remember, I still need my things till I can move to the new house."
I smiled and said, "I hate that you will be here and I will be two hours away."
"The time will go fast," He said. "Remember when you went up last week to get the house ready? You were there for seven days, and it went by fast. We should be thankful that I can stay at J's house in their garage rooms until I can get the transfer."
Nodding, I watched him get ready for work and waved when he walked out the door. Eli took his role of caregiver seriously, but what he did not know was that I had forty thousand in the bank. This was part of my inheritance, and it went along with the house. I also had a few thousand in cash at the new house in the office desk. I spent a week at the new house north of us in a little town that sat on a lake. I added the town sell group to my Facebook and posted that I was selling items from four to seven each night. I set up card tables and boxes in the garage and would open the garage door when I was ready to sell. The day before I left to come back home I packed all the boxes up along with the remaining items I decided not to keep in the house, the last day and stacked them along the empty wall at the end of the garage.
I labeled three boxes that morning: Eli's, What was in the box, and sell. Going into the guest room, I started to sort everything. A few hours later, Eli called and asked, "What are you doing?"
"I am sorting all the clothes I had in the old guest room closet. I had so much stuffed in there," I said. "I have more boxes for my sell pile than I do for my keep pile. I have already started loading boxes into the U-Haul."
"How long do you think it will take you to pack it up," He asked.
"A few days," I said. "When are you going to move the bed to J's, along with the couch?"
"I am off tomorrow, so I will move some things then," He said. "Thank god we are getting rid of the old bed from the master bedroom. We need a new one for sure."
"True," I said. "Thankfully, the furniture in the house is practically new. I only sold a few pieces from the house. I like Grandma's newer things."
"Well, she did have great taste," Eli said. "I will pick up pizza tonight, so don't worry about cooking. I will go through the papers in the filing cabinet on and off this week so we can start fresh at the new house. I will send all but what I need for work to a side table in my bedroom."
"Sounds good," I said.
"Talk to you soon," He said. "I love you."
"I love you," I said.
Going back into the guest room, I took a break from the closet and started pulling the art down from the walls. I wrapped everything that was being loaded into the U-Haul and moved boxes and items during the day. If I were keeping the items, I would write what room they were going into. If I were selling the items, it would say sell on the label. I was in the storage room sorting through my canning items that were stored in there when Eli came in with a pizza and a bottle of soda. He looked around and said, "You have been busy."
"I had to get out of the guest room for a while," I said. "I figured the storage closet would take some time, so I might as well start here before you get home."
"How about this?" He said. "It's early still. Why don't you work in the office, and i go through the filing cabinet at the same time so we can decide what needs to be kept and shredded. After dinner, that is."
"Okay," I said. "Why don't you change before we eat?"
Smiling, he kissed my forehead and went to the bedroom to change. When he came out, he was wearing shorts and a tee. Taking my hand, he pulled me to the couch, and we started to eat. We talked about the timeline for him to move. He pulled me to him and said, "I cannot wait to come home to the new house. But don't worry I will come up every Friday and stay till Sunday night. Also, this morning, I do not want to keep a lot at J's. Just the essentials and something to do when I am not here with you. I thought about what I said this morning and felt it was rude."
"You're ok, Eli," I said. "I didn't even think about that. I wish they would give you the damn transfer already."
"Same," He said, standing up, he took the box and put it in the fridge. Coming back in, he took my hand and helped me up. We grabbed the boxes from the hall and went into the office.
Pointing to the bookcase, I asked, "Do you want any for J's house?"
He added four books to his box, and he said, "You know what pack the books you want, and when your done I will choose what I want. The rest can go in the sell pile."
He grabbed the paper shredder and started going through all the files. He added a few to his box and when I filled the first box of books, he ran them down to the U-Haul. We worked for another hour before we got too tired to continue. He looked through the books I did not want and added a few back to keep box. We put the rest in the sell pile. He added the files to the important box we created. I took the bags of garbage to the dumpster, and when I came back, he was filling our drink cups.
He asked, "Are you going to be alright with the nursery?"
"Yes," I said. "I may sell some of the things until we see if we can get pregnant again. Our families went crazy when we were only 8 weeks along last time. We did nothing wrong, and I know it happens in even the most healthy pregnancies. One day we will be parents. It has to be God's will."
Hugging me he kissed my forehead. He said, "You will be an amazing mom one day."
We went to the bedroom and lay down. Before long, we fell asleep in each other's arms. The following morning, Eli woke me and said, "We should stop trying to stop a baby from being conceived. It's been almost a year, and we can try but not try."
Curling up against him, I said, "I would love to try, but not try."
A few hours later we sat eating breakfast when the phone rang and Eli said, "Its my boss."
He picked up the phone and he said, "Hey Matt. We are working on packing the house up so we can bring things up on my next day off. I was hoping you would have an ETA on the transfer as we want to be settled before we try for another baby."
He gave a look and said, "Matt, when I told you about the move, you said I would have a transfer in three months. I did not quit because you promised the transfer. Listen, Matt, I have to help Mel with the packing. We will speak tomorrow."
He stood up after he ended the call and I asked, "Whats wrong Eli?"
He rubbed his hands over his face and he said, "Matt is saying a year to transfer. He wanted to know if I wanted to use some vacation time next week to help you move."
Wrapping my arms around his waist, I asked him, "What do you want to do?"
He kissed my forehead and said, "You are not getting rid of any of the baby stuff that we may need. Why don't you go in there and pack some of the things we will use. I am going to make a few calls."
The look in his eyes made me agree and I went into the nursery with the sell box and babys room box. When we miscarried last year, we decided to wait and now that we are trying again I did not want to get rid of much except doubles. Opening the closet, I started to pack up what was in there, periodically placing items in the sell box. I had just finished packing the closet up when Eli came in and he was angry. I asked, "What happened?"
"Matt never started the transfer," Kai said. "I called Ella in HR and asked her why transfers were taking a year, and she said Matt never submitted the paperwork to her. She told me to call the office in the new town and speak with the manager. I did and when I told Kevin I was trying to transfer out there because we inherited a house and wanted to start a family, he told me he would start the paperwork now so I could start immediately. He was pissed that Matt played this game, especially since he has been asking Matt if anyone wanted to transfer out to them and Matt was telling them no. Kevin said that I should take some vacation time so we can finish packing and he will have the transfer paperwork ready and to Ella. He also three-way called to their boss and explained what was going on and Tim the DM is pissed."
"So you have to fill out paperwork, right?" I asked. Kissing him I said, "Thankfully your first box is not even in the car yet. We can sort that into the move pile now. Also, you may want to call so he can rent out the room. Go, I got this, and just think by this time in two weeks you can be fishing off our own dock."
He gave me a huge smile and said, "Thank you."
I continued to pack and sort the nursery. By the time Eli came back to the nursery, I was more than half done packing up the nursery. He looked around and helped me to my feet as he said, "Paperwork is done. Ella knows he situation and said she would keep the transfer quiet until Matt has to know. At this time, all he thinks is I am taking a two-week vacation starting on Sunday."
Smiling, I said, "Well, look at how things worked out. So why don't we bring these items to the uhaul and then we can eat lunch?"
He said, "Why don't you start making lunch, and I will bring this all to the U-Haul."
Going into the kitchen, I pulled out some bacon and started to make BLTs. As I cooked the bacon, I made some French fries in the air fryer. When I heard Eli come in I called out, "Before we leave the city we should hit up a bunch of the stores to add to our food stockpile. There is a small grocery but its for basic things."
He popped his head into the kitchen and he spotted the bacon. Grabbing a piece, he asked, "Didn't you say your grandma had two deep freezers as well?"
"They are both in the pantry," I said. "One on both sides at the beginning of the shelving units."
"That is a good idea," He said. "I will get some dry ice packages, and we will keep the party coolers out of the moving van until the end."
As he went to grab another piece of bacon I said, "Don't do it unless you want a vegi sandwich."
He swiped one last piece and said, "Last piece. I am gonna grab the rocker and load it up. We can finish the nursery by tonight."
"Yes we can," I said. "By Sunday we should have the whole house ready to go.I figured we could hit up the stores on the way to the new house."
He gave a soft look and said, "Mel, we need a break from the house. How about later tonight we go to Hobby Lobby and Dollar Tree. See what you can add to the move boxes. Please make a list of the stores you want to shop at to load her up."
"That is a lot of money," I said.
He gave a sly smile and handed me an envelope. Then he said, "I started saving for when the baby was born so we would have everything we would need. I kept saving and there is close to ten thousand in there. We will do a shopping spree along the way up there and then you can keep the rest for setting up for the house."
I hugged him and said, "Wow I guess you can have another piece of bacon."
We both started laughing and the timer on the air fryer went off. I made sandwiches, and we sat down. Eli asked, "So Mel. When we move do you think you may want to work part-time? Or maybe you should try to bring your website back."
"I have been thinking about this," I said. "With a baby it will be hard to work, but I have been working on my website a bit and think its about time she came back to life once we move. One sec."
I went to the office and handed him a notebook. Eli looked over what I had written out and he said, "Mel this is fantastic. The recipes you want to post and the social media connections to go with each are awesome. With your old following and being on the island, you are going to not only bring the blog back to life, but you can also use the outdoor kitchen and do scenery and beach videos."
I chuckled and said, "Look at the back of the notebook."
He looked and saw that I had the idea of taping the beach and uploading the videos. He saw that I had something similar for TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram. I said, "I announced that the social media and blog will be back after the move. I also checked my creator accounts on each, and I am still getting residual income on the social media and website."
He took my hand and said, "I am proud of you. After losing the baby, you were lost, and I am so proud of how much you have worked on everything to heal yourself. You should share your journey."
"The idea is towards the back," I said. "I add more ideas as I pack. I want to contribute again and Eli if it had not been for you I would not have made it through losing the baby. But I think its time that eating with Mel comes back to life."
He gave me a smile and said, "Baby steps, Melly. Besides I think our new home will be a great inspiration."
"I think you are just excited to fish from our dock," I said.
H gave a look of surprise and said, "You're not wrong. So today is Sunday, and starting tomorrow I work until Friday. Do you think you can get a lot of the house packed beforehand and possibly get some of the shopping done?"
I handed him my list and said, "With the money you gave me, and I am transferring half of my money from my social media, I will be ready, I hope."
"Save the money from the social media account," He said. Handing me his credit card, he said, "Use this as it has your name on it as well; we have credit on there from the vacation refund."
We cleaned up from lunch and I went back into the nursery. When my timer went off for dinner, we had finished the nursery, the living room closet, entry way and hallway. We decided to go grab early dinner at Sweet Tomatoes. After we went to Sweet Tomatoes We stopped at lowes and purchased some of the large totes that would hold the items we bought to stock the house. Placing them in the back of the truck we went into All Canada to pick up some of our favorite Canadian products. Then, since Milfords Non Perishables was right next door, we each loaded up two carts and loaded the totes in the truck.
Eli started yawning, and I smiled as I said, "I think we did enough for tonight. Let's go home and go to bed."
When we got home Eli stacked the totes that were full along the side of the U-Haul. We also lucked out and got mason jars from both locations and stacked them behind the totes. We moved the totes to the back of the U-Haul and headed inside to go to sleep.
We fell asleep fast that night and the following morning I woke up and made Eli breakfast as he jumped into the shower. He kissed me and told me to leave the boxes stacked and he would move them when he got home. When he left I set a timer and Cleaned out the guest room closet and finished the office closet. I was halfway through packing up the living room when the timer went off. I pulled on my sneakers and decided to go to some stores until four or until I filled my SUV. I had just walked into the Dollar Tree when Eli called.
"Hey babe," I said. "How are things going?"
He chuckled and asked, "Are you shopping?"
"Yes," I said. "I am at the Dollar Tree. I have a bunch of boxes and half the living room ready for you to move to the U-Haul. I am doing a store run and going until I fill the SUV. How is things going at the office."
He chuckled and said, "I am in the truck now, eating lunch as Matt thinks he pulled one over on me. Oh and Jay's stopping by tonight if your okay with that to shoot the shit and have a beer. He can help me move the stuff you have ready for the Uhaul."
"You know he is always welcome," I said. "I expect him to visit to fish with you."
I checked out three carts at the Dollar Tree and stopped for a herbal tea. Heading to Hobby Lobby next I filled two carts of items and hit up their post-Christmas savings sale. Shopping all the sales in store I saw that I still had plenty of room in the SUV. I went to Seedsrus and filled a cart of seeds and starter items for my new greenhouse. I was hoping that now that the snow is over I will be able to grow many plants to support the blog, my store and social media. After that I went to big lots and grabbed two carts of items. I stopped at the moving store and ordered five coolers to keep frozen foods frozen for up to a week. They stated they would be delivered the next day. I headed to Michaels and finished filling up the SUV.
I pulled into my spot as Eli walked up with a bag of Subs. He saw the SUV and said, "Let me put this inside."
I opened the U-Haul and opened the totes we were filling and added more grocery store bags in. I had started the next tote when Eli came out with water for me and saw the new stack of mason jars and laughed, "Is this business or stock up?"
"Both," I said as I took a sip. "I also have five large cooler chests coming with dry ice that will last up to a week, so I can start the stores that sell perishables. We will also use the coolers but I figured this will start us off."
We walked inside, and I pointed out the boxes that needed to go into the U-Haul. When he saw the living room he said, "Damn you have been busy. Is the love seat is ready? What about the couch?"
"I have to pull the couch out and sweep," I said. "But that is ready to load up as well."
The doorbell rang ad Eli went to answer the door. Jay walked in and said, "Mel love give me a hug. I am going to miss you."
Hugging Jay I said, "Hey you can come visit any time, and we have a fishing dock you can hang out with Eli on."
He made a face and said, "Fine I will take the fishing dock."
We all laughed. Eli and Jay made quick work of loading the couch and love seat. We sat down to eat and talked about the shopping and loading up the house. Jay asked, "Do you guys want help unloading the U-Haul this weekend? I can follow you down and help you unload."
Eli said, "You sure man? That would be a great help."
"Heck yeah," He said and winked at me as he said, "Besides, we may need to test the fishing dock."
Laughing as I stood up I said, "Okay you two have fun I am going to do something dangerous while you chill."
Eli said, "Your closet."
"Yup," I said.
Grabbing a box to lay my hanging clothes in, and then I grabbed the sell box. Opening the closet, I pulled out the first pile of clothing. When Eli came in a few hours later, I was a third of the way through the closet. I was on my third sell box when I stopped. Eli took the boxes down and I cleaned up. He brought in our cups with water and took a shower after I was done. We laid down and talked while we went to sleep0
Master bedroom- master bath- Eli's closet- my closet .33- guest room- office- guest bathroom- kitchen- pantry- linen closet- storage room- patio- laundry room- laundry closet- dining room- dining room closet- entry closet- living room .5
BJS, Costco, Sams, Walmart, hannaford, kroger, The dry goods store, the outlet, ollies, target, dollar general, family dollar, bulkstore, resturant store, the fishing outlet, rural king, lowes, mercury meats, the outlet, stews canned goods, the farmers market, the vendors place, bath and bodyworks, the britt store, the aisian store, HGB, europa goods, italia gourmet, the bulk produce, the greenhouse, bass pro
$40000 Checking $3800 cash $12490 Social account
Mel- Main Eating with Mel- Website, Tiktok, instagram, facebook, youtube
Eli-husband
Jay- Best friend
Ella-HR Tim-DM Kevin-New manager Matt-former manager
New house- Masterbedroom, master bath, eli closet, my closet, sitting area, nursey, nursery closet, jack and jill bathroom, guest room, guest bathroom, kitchen, pantry, garage, laundry room, outdoor kitchn, outdoor patio, dining room, breakfast nook, office, living room, fireplace area, entry way, mudroom, front porch, attic, attic bedroom, linen closet, outdoor storage shed, back lawn, Empty greenhouse
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