Whirlwind trip to Oklahoma

I made a whirlwind trip to Oklahoma from July 23rd through the 31st. I went with the purpose of cleaning out a storage unit that we had used to keep all of our things from our house. This storage unit was 10x20 and was stacked floor to ceiling. We had given much of our furniture away before we left and to some friends who moved to Oklahoma after we left for Korea. I arrived on Thursday afternoon. I brought one load of storage boxes to my parents house on Friday afternoon and went through it very quickly. I picked up another load but it was too late to do anything with it. On Saturday, we loaded up the last bedroom suite into my dad's neighbor's truck and he took it to his house for their little girls' room. We also loaded up my washer and dryer and gave it to a friend from high school. My brother came up and helped deliver the washer and dryer. He and his family helped me move boxes from the storage unit to my parent's house and to go through some of them. By the end of Saturday, we only had one load of small bookshelves to load up out of the shed. My parent's lawn had lots of storage boxes in it to go through though. Did I mention that it was 103 degrees on Saturday? I took a break on Sunday and went to church at Western Hills. I was able to see some of my old friends there which was truly a blessing. I scheduled to meet with our friends the Martins on Monday evening. Monday, we went through boxes and more boxes and then more boxes still. I went to the Martins that evening and really had a great time of fellowship with our good friends. I truly miss having people like them in my life on a regular basis. God bless you Martin family for all you do for people. Tuesday, my brother came up and helped load up all the things we were getting rid of and took them to a Habitat for Humanity drop off point. It was great getting to see my brother and his family. I can't believe his oldest is 15. I know that my oldest is 14, but being away from his family really shows how much people change. Tuesday evening, I went to our friends the Determans. It was a great visit till 1 in the morning. On Wednesday, I finished up the last of the boxes. I had one big pile of stuff left when we finished working. I left that evening and went to eat with Pamela's family at Cheddar's. I was able to see her parents, her uncle, and her niece's family. Her niece is married with two beautiful daughters. I remember her being four years old and coming on all of our dates with us. Her youngest is just four months old. I hate that Pamela hasn't gotten to see her yet. Thursday morning, I sorted the big pile into two smaller piles: mementos to be stored and things to go to Korea. I then finished all of my shopping and packed all of my bags. My flight left at 7 am from OKC airport. That means I needed to be there around 4:30 to get everything done for an international flight. We went to IHOP around 3 am to eat breakfast before going to the airport. I don't know how many hours we put in over the week, but I'm sure it was more than the 40 that I would have put in teaching. If I didn't see you while I was in Oklahoma, I'm sorry. Just remember that I had a job to do while I was there. I do wish I could have seen more of you.

The moral of this story is don't hold too tight to your things. I highly suggest that you go through your houses and get rid of any expendable items (and I don't mean your family!). Save time and do it now. Don't wait until someone else has to go through it for you. After all, it's only stuff.