OK, lets start with the arrival of my brothers. My older brother marched in and demanded to know what he could pack. His mindset was to just get things in boxes as quickly as possible. I wasn't really on board for that so after a little bit of wrangling we had a family meeting and settled our approach. First of all someone needed to be on Mom duty. MY mother (like me) is easily distracted and must be kept on point or there will be boxes and boxes of nonsense and she will forget to bring her favorite church going shoes. My older brother accepted that task with the condition that he be spelled now and then. My younger brother worked mainly to get the piano (which he had claimed) and other personal items as well as carting filled boxes out to the garage. My Darling pushed for getting the truck early so that we could start packing it on the fourth rather than waiting for the fifth and hoping we would be done in time to drive to MI and unload on Sunday (my brothers had to leave early Monday morning). The new plan would buy us a day cushion in case things don't go smoothly. Best case scenario we would have a day of rest before the boys hit the road. As for my youngest brother (often referred to as idiot boy) he spent most of the time dropping in and out to let us know how the attempts to get his truck fixed were going.

So it seems that my niece who alternates between "I love you" and "I hate you" with my folks was so very upset about my parents leaving that she ran his truck into a tree the night before I arrived. She also showed up sporadically to hover around doing nothing, cry and storm away in a huff. These are her most frequent states. She mostly shows up at the folks when she needs something, a car, money or just attention. She has my disease but hers is coupled with a severe "I got such a bad deal in life feel sorry for me" state. I suffered but I never blamed anyone else nor expected anyone else to take care of me while I frittered away. I always worked and took care of myself. At one point she stormed up to "her room" which, while still packed with the stuff she didn't bother to take with her when she left, is the guest room My Darling and I stay in when we are visiting. Due to her active addiction My Darling doesn't trust her around our stuff, especially my purse so, while I had tucked my purse away when she arrived I went to check on her. I know she is sad my parents are leaving and I sympathize with her but when I promised that I would take care of them she wailed "but I NEED her". As always she only thinks of how events effect her. She is unconcerned about my parents welfare unless she needs something. I am sure she does need my parents, they have bailed her out of jail many times (although they did not bail her out after the accident her father, idiot boy, did.) Like everyone suffering from mental illness, she will have to believe she is sick and be willing to trade off the high to stave off the low and erratic with medication. I know that you lose a part of yourself when to take your meds, believe me I do, but the destruction that accompanies un-medicated mental illness isn't worth it to me. Until the bad out weighs the good for her she will continue long as she has, or she will die or be jailed.

More with the move. My Father had little to pack, despite the accumulation of a lifetime crammed into the house. While he tried to get everyone to take things he didn't fuss as much about little things. His chair, his TV and his computer were his main concerns. Oh and his rocker where he fancied himself sitting in the sun room working his morning puzzles and drinking coffee.

Once the truck arrived My Darling and younger brother Began packing while older brother and I continued packing and monitoring Mother. We were way ahead of the game, it seemed, as we stopped for the night with only the last minute stuff, bed, night stands and Moms day to day makeup. The dog, cat and plants would make the southern trip with my folks (can't take the plants through Canada) while the rest of us would head through Canada along our usual route.

Idiot boy had managed to avoid the majority of the move only showing up long enough to much up the moving of the freezer out of the basement (good thing my Dad doesn't care about dents), cry about his loss and get into one final fight with younger brother. Younger brother is only 13 months older than idiot boy and as such has far less patience with him. Still I feel for him, his pain is genuine and even though he is selfish and incompetent he is their son and he has never been away from them except for a brief aborted stint in the military (failure to adapt to military life). I gave him a hug and promised him I would take good care of them. I only heard later from MY Darling that he had threatened my husband with physical violence if anything happened to them. How rude, but so much the character he is. MY Darling, praised universally for his selflessness in taking in my folks is disrespected by idiot boy with threats of violence.

The trip went well. There was a shaky bit of time coming back into the states when it seemed as though they were not going to allow the moving truck back in but when the custom official found out that my other niece , her husband and, of course, younger brother were all in the military he was waved through.

Most of the truck was unpacked when the folks arrived and all was done before dinner. Sunday was, as we had hoped, a day of rest with a little unpacking here and there. Monday morning the brothers were off bright and early. In keeping with what appears to be a family tradition, younger brother left his hat behind and older brother left a set of pillows. Older brother claims that I must store his pillows as my folks had, for when he visits but younger brother admitted he just plain forgot his hat. I have never had a family member stay at my house without leaving something behind.

There is more to talk about but this is long enough, more later.

I wish you Peace

~alison~

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