Two movers came today to take our first shipment of stuff to Hawaii. Since it will take so long (up to two months) for most of our household goods to arrive, we can ship up to 1,000 pounds early so it will be there when we arrive. Of course, we shipped lots of summer clothes, swim suits, beach toys, beach chairs, and beach towels. It's around 45 degrees here right now so we aren't likely to need any of that stuff in the next two months, but we will desperately need it upon arrival.
The moving team consisted of two men. We had a fairly easy load to pack and it didn't take them long. One of them took all of five minutes to ask, "Are the schools not in session today?"
"We homeschool," I replied.
"I'm actually a school teacher," he said.
"Oh great!" I said.
"Oh crap," I thought.
"I taught for a million billion years," he told me. (He didn't really say it was that long. But how ever many years he did say was a lot.) "And I was the school counselor for the last fifteen years of that."
"Wow! That's great," I smiled winningly, trying to look competent and hoping the kids would remember their manners and make me look good.
He made several comments about school and curriculum and then he started flogging the dead horse of socialization.
"You know," he said, "homeschooling may be good for the early years, but at his age," pointing at Ben, "he probably needs to go to school for the socialization."
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH," I screamed..........in my head.
"Well, actually, he's very social," I took a deep breath to rattle off all our social activities and relieve the fears this man had concerning my children. "He plays soccer, he's got the lead in a skit with his youth group, he takes guitar lessons, we are part of a science co-op, he just went on a mission trip to Maine this summer, and he's a boy scout!"
"I've been a scout master for the past gazillion years."
Wow.
Then he quizzed Ben about being a Life Scout and how far along the path he is to Eagle Scout. When he stepped out to get some more boxes I hissed at Ben, "He thinks you're unsocialized! He's giving you a socialization pop-quiz!"
I thought about wrapping the kids in bubble wrap so I would really look like an overprotective parent, but the movers came back in too soon.
Then while the other packer went over all the paper work with me and I signed tons of little lines, teacher-man examined every book I had on my shelves in the dining room and the living room. He even picked up and thumbed through some of the books we had out on the table. Then he gave me another pop-quiz about state requirements and how homeschoolers get into college. I was happy to give him all the info he requested and then topped it off with an extra credit report about my kids annual standardized test scores. ACE IN THE HOLE!
After they left, I collapsed like a noodle on the sofa. Moving is exhausting!
The moving team consisted of two men. We had a fairly easy load to pack and it didn't take them long. One of them took all of five minutes to ask, "Are the schools not in session today?"
"We homeschool," I replied.
"I'm actually a school teacher," he said.
"Oh great!" I said.
"Oh crap," I thought.
"I taught for a million billion years," he told me. (He didn't really say it was that long. But how ever many years he did say was a lot.) "And I was the school counselor for the last fifteen years of that."
"Wow! That's great," I smiled winningly, trying to look competent and hoping the kids would remember their manners and make me look good.
He made several comments about school and curriculum and then he started flogging the dead horse of socialization.
"You know," he said, "homeschooling may be good for the early years, but at his age," pointing at Ben, "he probably needs to go to school for the socialization."
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH," I screamed..........in my head.
"Well, actually, he's very social," I took a deep breath to rattle off all our social activities and relieve the fears this man had concerning my children. "He plays soccer, he's got the lead in a skit with his youth group, he takes guitar lessons, we are part of a science co-op, he just went on a mission trip to Maine this summer, and he's a boy scout!"
"I've been a scout master for the past gazillion years."
Wow.
Then he quizzed Ben about being a Life Scout and how far along the path he is to Eagle Scout. When he stepped out to get some more boxes I hissed at Ben, "He thinks you're unsocialized! He's giving you a socialization pop-quiz!"
I thought about wrapping the kids in bubble wrap so I would really look like an overprotective parent, but the movers came back in too soon.
Then while the other packer went over all the paper work with me and I signed tons of little lines, teacher-man examined every book I had on my shelves in the dining room and the living room. He even picked up and thumbed through some of the books we had out on the table. Then he gave me another pop-quiz about state requirements and how homeschoolers get into college. I was happy to give him all the info he requested and then topped it off with an extra credit report about my kids annual standardized test scores. ACE IN THE HOLE!
After they left, I collapsed like a noodle on the sofa. Moving is exhausting!
What a nightmare! Glad you got your first shipment off... and don't worry about spiders. The geckos eat them.
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