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Between bowels in an uproar or on strike, worn out hips, knees, and shoulders, and the aches and pains of undetermined origin, my husband and I need to stick together so that we can function as one whole person.  We are also losing some of our mental acuity.  Together we have one good functioning brain!

So imagine our surprise when our very pregnant and exhausted daughter called us and asked if we would help them pack up their current home and move to a larger home to accommodate their growing family.  Us?  Really?  Could we do it?  Should we do it?  Would we survive?

We decided we’d die trying.

Off we went with our dogs, work clothes, paint supplies, packing material, medicines, vitamins and minerals for five days with hopes that baby Ryker would arrive during that time.

We packed.  We cleaned.  We painted.  We moved furniture and did other duties as they came along.  What started out as a five day visit, turned into two weeks as Baby Ryker’s arrival was to be “any day”.  Our daughter’s body was showing every sign of his arrival accept for one – labor.  So, we continued working.

We were not alone in this endeavor.  It was a family affair with both sets of parents helping, each with their own gifts being utilized.  Love stimulates and provides adrenaline to override the pain, the exhaustion, the grab meals on the go and repent at length kind of frazzled and frenzied days.

Our bodies hadn’t done this type of work since…well, since we had moved into our current home in 1987.  We were so much younger then!  If memory serves me it was 29 years ago and I don’t remember the groaning, moaning, lack of agility, motility and flexibility.

10 days into this we ran out of our meds and minerals and leg cramps began to set in.  The timing was unfortunate because we only had reservations for five days and apparently there was a government convention in Orlando (everyone was trying to get out of the northern blizzard conditions) and there wasn’t a hotel room to be had.  So Thad and I moved into the kid’s new home and slept in the spare room on a blow up mattress.  Now, leg cramps are bad enough, right?  But two overweight 60 + people with leg cramps on a low blow up mattress (did I mention it was low to the ground) is like watching hurricane force winds pick up and toss the ocean.  The cacophony alone should have awaken the neighbors and made them call 911.  Although not funny at the time, in hindsight, a U-tube video would have gone viral in minutes.

Despite all that, it was amazing what we were able to accomplish!  While we are slower than the whirling dervish of yesteryear, we can still do everything we used to, just with a lot more pain!   But we did it and we did it together.  With less than we had, but with more knowledge than before, we worked smarter and we worked as one.

After two weeks and the induced birth of our second grandson, (YIPPEEEE!), we came home to repair and recoup our sore and tired bodies.  Exhausted but exhilarated, we sat in the comfort of our own bed and had to admit it was all worth it.  We would do it again.

But not just yet.

We are still licking our wounds.