Heading North

Our journey from Florida to Georgia was not a simple one. We loaded 3 households into 3 moving trucks under the threat of an impending hurricane and followed that same hurricane as it headed north along the east coast. Our new home suffered some minor damage, mostly to trees and such. We were fortunate.

Our moving trucks were not so fortunate. They traveled in a caravan separate from us. During the late night journey on 285 outside of Atlanta, one of the trucks was side swiped by a young man going way too fast in a Porsche at 1am. Thanks dude! The truck lost the battle and was tipped on its side. The driver suffered only minor injuries, thank goodness. The truck never broke open so it was easy enough to bring it upright and attach it to the tow truck. You would think this was the end of the story……

Not that simple. About a mile and a half down the road, that same forlorn truck who had managed to keep herself closed up tight from the first accident was struck by an 18 wheeler (hit and run). This time the truck burst open, spilling mostly my in-laws and just a bit of our belongings into a scattered disaster right there on 285. Purses, dresses, bed frames, televisions everywhere. Nothing was spared.

This was an overwhelming scenario on top of the move itself. We uprooted 3 families after almost 4 decades in Florida to start a completely different life. And this is how it began!

We never knew about the second accident until a month after the fact. No one involved ever told us it had occurred. We went to the storage area where the damaged truck was brought to examine the belongings from the accident and retrieve what we could. There were so many items missing. My in-laws did an amazing inventory of their boxes while packing. Yay for that. There were pages of items missing for which there was no explanation.

I finally located the officer who had written the report for the first accident hoping to find answers. The whole picture changed when he asked, “Didn’t anyone tell you about the second accident?” That was one of those kicked in the stomach moments. His insights led us to a tow yard nearly one month after the accident to find a mountain of our belongings in a rain soaked pile at the back of the property. What hadn’t been picked through and taken by goodness-knows-who was lying in a dirty, moldy mess.

I never found that old wooden tool box given to me by my father. It’s THE piece that started my crazy love for breathing life into old things and making them new. My in laws lost a major portion of their lifelong possessions.

In the end, it was all just stuff. We all arrived in Georgia intact and healthy. We had the help of a great friend to navigate the insurance process and were able to replace much of what was lost.

We can laugh about the crazy now, but it was quite the challenge in the moment. It really drove home the point that the stuff just doesn’t matter. The people in your life are the true treasures.

❤️ Tina