U-haul or not U-haul, that is the question

It takes a special breed of humor to appreciate mother nature's jokes. As if unemployment, freakishly high energy bills and the full knowledge that carbs (of all delicious varieties) are bad for me isn't enough! Apparently there is no limit to life's little challenges and the bizarre sense of humor that hussy mother nature inflicts on we mere mortals.

Recently I helped my boyfriend move from San Diego to Dallas. Now here is a trip that on the surface seems like it would not be too difficult. After all packing up the truck with someone who's an engineer and enjoys things neat and tidy should make things . . . um, efficient (not challenging, efficient, that's it) a nice 26 hour ride of quality time sounds just perfect doesn't it? and when is the weather bad in San Diego?! Hold up. Not so fast answering that last one! It seems the city known for imposing a deserving sunshine tax experiences a little rain sometimes, and sometimes, a lot of rain . . . a whole lot.

That's fine. I'm a trooper. I'm not going to let some inclement weather get me down. At least, not right away. So on to the next, small (literally) problem - the truck is a wee bit short, so packing takes some creativity and patience. Now I ask you, do I strike you as a person that possesses either of these qualities?!. The entire ordeal (and yes, at this point it is already an ordeal) is prolonged as we unscrew all furniture and break everything down to its constituting parts. We haul a 220 pound television, boxes upon boxes, bed, dresser, desk, (did I mention the boxes?), all while the rain beats down on the furniture, our clothes, even our morale. At one point I wanted to shake my fist in the air and scream "Bite me El Nino!" but really, what would going all "King Lear" get me? All it got him was some betraying daughters, an over-developed sense of paranoia, and a small bout with insanity! But I digress.

After working through the night, we nap for two hours, get up finish loading the truck and get ready to depart. I know what you're thinking. Two people, two hours of sleep, twenty-six hours of quality time . . . recipe for good times. Well, I'm happy to report we didn't kill each other. (Yup. It's true love folks!) Of course that's probably because I could continue to direct all my ire toward el nino as the entire night we drove through Arizona and New Mexico in the rain. It wasn't until we reached El Paso that the kid finally gave up! Persistant little bugger!

As in all great tales this one has a lesson: I think that one can never know how they feel about someone until they move together. And I'm not talkin' about one of those across town moves, no sir. (Those are for the teenage sweethearts and match.com couples.) I'm talking about packing stuff into a too small truck, driving for too long on too little sleep and still having two people standing at the end. It's more than an accomplishment; it's a miracle! I'm talking about packing up gifts from ex-girlfriends and not killing him, or finding pictures of old flames and not comparing yourself to them, or if you do, not coming up short. I'm talking about the ultimate test of the couple experience! When faced with the dilemma it is not for the faint of heart or weak of arm to confidently choose "U-Haul!"