I’m a pastor. As you probably know, as a pastor I wear many hats and am a “jack of all trades,” and hopefully a master of one, the preaching of The Gospel.
But I’m also still a son and a dad and a grandpa. As you probably know, as a son and a dad and a grandpa I wear many hats and am a “jack of all trades,” a master of practically none, but I give everything my best effort in the name of love.
Speaking of love, and “the things we do for love,” one of those love things is helping my dad, and my kids, and my grandkids move, and store their belongings, often just stuff, in our house while they are waiting to have room for it under their own roofs. In fact, in our family we have done this so often that we have even given ourselves a company name, “Kollmeyer Moving and Storage.”
I would bet that you good folks in my age bracket know exactly what I’m talking about.
Recently, Kollmeyer Moving and Storage has been quite busy. And, no, our company has shown no monetary profit, but we’ve been true to our company motto, “The things we do for love.”
In the past month we, my dear hard-working wife and I, have been in on three such endeavors. And the week prior, we spent ten days with our older daughter and family, which we love to do, and played a lot, but we also had quite the to-do list to help her stay just slightly ahead of her three young boys all under 6.
So, the moves. Those first few days of September, when, as you may remember, the temperature hovered every day in the mid-90’s, matched equally in humidity, we helped our son and his wife and our precious granddaughter move from their first house in Atlanta to their another house in Atlanta, to afford them room for a growing family.
Did I mention it was hot, hazy, and humid in Atlanta that first week of September? Goodness! But with deep love and no complaints, we loaded up tools from the toolshed, packed boxes of everything, helped clear out the attic (I can now preach even more fervently on the reasons to avoid “the fires of hell”), and loaded vans, trailers, and trucks with all that a young family moves from one house to another. Kollmeyer Moving and Storage.
A week later we were back at it again. My dad, who lives in assisted living here in Fayetteville, suffered the loss of his dear wife to sudden cardiac arrest while sitting next to him watching tv on Sunday afternoon. A few days after her Memorial Service we needed to move Dad from their two-bedroom apartment to a different one-bedroom apartment, which would now meet his needs.
Dad’s move was only from one apartment at Azalea Estates to another there, but, his old apartment was completely at the one end of the complex and his new apartment was completely at the other end.
It seemed like a simple move, so my wife and I set about making the trips down the long corridors, using our hand truck, furniture dollies, and sneakers to complete the transition. Dad asked to help, but for his sake and ours, it just worked better for him to watch tv, sleep in his chair, and stay out of the way. No offense, Dad. There was way more stuff, there’s that word again, than one might expect, but we made it happen. He likes his new digs. Kollmeyer Moving and Storage.
As I write this I’m sitting in my younger daughter’s apartment in Arlington, Virginia, where we have just about accomplished her move from Huntsville, Alabama, to here, where she will live and commute by train into Washington D.C. to work for FEMA. It’s her dream job, and we’re very proud, of course.
This move has been the longest and most labor-intensive of all the recent ones. We began in Huntsville where we rented a 16-foot Penske truck and loaded it to the gills with our daughter’s valuable belongings… and stuff. Again, no offense. It’s just part of the job. We know that and don’t mind a bit.
After loading the Penske with everything that came down a full flight of stairs from her second-floor apartment (no elevator available, of course), we set out to drive the 700 miles to Arlington, VA. That was a full day. Goodness! We had three vehicles and three drivers, so we all had to drive the whole way, though we alternated taking the wheel and responsibility of the truck.
With a very late arrival, but a good night’s sleep in a very nice hotel, we got the truck unloaded into the new apartment, and it looks like this will be a great spot for a great life for her. We’re so glad we could help make it happen. Kollmeyer Moving and Storage.
“The things we do for love.” And of course, “We love because God first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
We wouldn’t have it any other way.
Find Kollmeyer at www.princeofpeacefayette.org.
