And so Lent begins...

Wow!  Today was a whirlwind of packing.  The team of four guys wrapped the big furniture items and loaded the truck from 9am to 3:30pm straight today.  One of the guys, Armando, was very impressive to watch.  Within seconds using only cardboard, tape, and a knife, he created custom boxes, custom packing, and padded flooring.  Watching him work, I honestly believe he could create a house in less than an hour if he wanted to!  His supervisor told me, with humble pride, that Armando is the best worker he's ever seen in all of his thirty years in the business and that he was very fortunate to have Armando be willing to work for him.  They were all very courteous and friendly, striking conversation with me and themselves throughout the day.  They also very consciously checked on me every hour and a half, I think in part to keep a good rapport but also to make sure that everything was being packed and being packed appropriately.

In all, they packed roughly 6 or 7 wooden boxes filled with our things.  The boxes were roughly 7' x 6' x 4'.  Yes, our household items almost completely filled a semi-truck trailer!  I was a little embarrassed to learn this, as I always like to think that I don't own many material objects.  In the end, two professional packers and four professional movers for two solid work days.  I wonder how long it would have taken me on my own...4 weeks?

The house is now empty, save a few items here and there.  I find it fitting that today is Ash Wednesday and our first day of duty is the first day after Easter.  My Lenten sacrifice has been dictated for me: no TV, no desktop computer, and very few material items.  I should now be a very good boy and finish taxes and learn German.  Easter really will be a birth for our little family...the start of our new european life:)

Here are several brief videos of the now empty house.  I get to live here for at least three more weeks with the dog and my select items to hold me over until then.

My wife has asked me several times how the empty house is affecting me.  In all honestly, I have been imagining this for over a month now.  The house is almost as empty now as when I first moved into it, so it actually is a good feeling of closure.  If anything, I feel like this is the calm before the storm in Germany.  I feel like the clock is actually ticking now for the complete move.  However, work tomorrow...bleh.

Etsy seems to be handling the missing items in the house okay.  She really is used to her kennel as her "home" now.  I'm finding that as long as it's around, she's ok.  She was very happy to see me when I picked her up.  My sister took good care of her including having given her a full body brush down.

On the Georgia front, after three days of land navigation, my wife's boots finally are getting the better of her. She ended "Land Nav" today with blisters on both feet.  Bear in mind, each of these past three days she has been on her feet for 5+ hours straight on uneven terrain for this course.  Based upon average human foot speed of 4 mph, she has been averaging 20 miles each day for the past several days...and gets to do more tomorrow!  She has spoken with Cadre for advice on optimizing care of her feet for this phase of the training and also solicited advice from other fellow classmates who have served in infantry.  She now has a full arsenal of knowledge with how to take the best care of her feet for her present environment.  We shall see tomorrow if it works.  I hope it does.  Walking with blisters is never a fun way to be.

Oy!  Back to the grind tomorrow after nearly a week hiatus.  I'll have to pull the plug on work eventually, probably within the next month, but it is difficult to know the best time for it as I still don't know when our plane leaves for Germany.  I'll hopefully get that information this week.