Well it has been quite sometime that I posted our status other than some
maintenance items around here, well for September that was not the case. After
a long hot Alabama summer things were beginning to change for John regarding his
employment at Lowe’s. He has been working at the same store since March 2014
when we decided to stay put in order to help remodel Rana’s mother (Melba) home
so it could sold and she could go full-time RVing. Remodeling has been complete
for over a year now but John stayed on at Lowe’s because at the time John &
Rana were not itching to leave.
At the end of August John was informed that his current position was being
eliminated and he would be moved into another position within the store. That
got them thinking to what’s next? Stay in place, enjoy the friendships that
have been created over that time or look farther down the road for new
opportunities or challenges. Lowe’s made the decision a little easier by moving
John into the Millwork department (Doors & Window sales) the second week of
September. After six days of lifting/moving heavy doors/windows he was done.
Turned in his notice and they started the process of packing up to move!
Packing stuff up to move is actually the process of going through each
cabinet, drawer, storage bay and closet for items that neither of them used in a
while. The front closet and under-bed storage yielded eight bags of clothes for
donations, extra comforters, towels and pillows. The lower storage bay (called
the basement on a 5th wheel) was emptied and each tote was then emptied so that
all the contents could be sorted into three categories: Keep, Free to a Good
Home and Trash. With all the totes gone through they were loaded back into the
basement in an order based on use/need. Same process was performed for the
front compartment.
So why were they packing up? Why not find another job in Montgomery? Well
with Rana’s mother not only moved into her 5th wheel but traveling on her own
successfully there was really nothing keep them here. Rana’s brother and his
family live in northern Alabama so that was an option but they wanted to try an
option that they put on hold since arriving in Alabama. Oil Field Gate Guarding. Before
they could start heading to Texas one last thing had to be taken care of, sell
the minivan. They held on to it for as long as possible with many attempts to
sell it to someone at Lowe’s but nobody stepped up. But a call to a friend in
the RV park yielded a sale on the spot.
With savings, money from the minivan sale and a recent paycheck from
Lowe’s John hitched the Big Country to me and we all pulled out as one rig. No
more scout/chase van with Rana at the wheel. One seven ton rolling home and
family heading west.
