Moving

You know I really love you if I help you move. Let me state for the record that I am not into manual labor. I went to college so that I could let my brain work for me and not my back. However, I keep finding myself lifting boxes and trying to carry mattresses up flights of stairs. When I was in school, my college girlfriend (who later became my ex-wife) used to always have a room on the second or third floor of the dorm. Yours truly would always end up lugging her trunks and overstuffed boxes up and down the stairs. Why not take the elevator? We talking about a black college, y’all. Those elevators did not work!

Moving is a sure-fire way to determine how a person really feels about you, whether it be your homeboys, platonic friends of the opposite sex or your current boyfriend or girlfriend. Just start telling people that you need help moving and you will find out quickly who has your back. All of a sudden, folks got stuff to do or just plain disappear when you try to contact them. When I got divorced and was moving into a townhouse, I tried to contact all the husbands and boyfriends from the couples we used to hang out with during our marriage. These are guys who I had drank with, talked mess over the grill with, tricked off at the strip club with, and even kept their kids overnight. Only one of them came to help me move.

Since that move, I have relocated three times. Each time, my only assistance was from one of my stepfather’s drug-addicted helpers. Admittedly, I do not have many male friends but I am not even trippin’ off that. My girlfriend recently moved into a new home. Without any hesitation, I left work early so I could help her move things and get settled in her new space. Moving to me is like getting a new beginning. You pack up all your good memories, hopes, and dreams and start fresh in a new location. I look at the people who help you move as the people who believe in your dream. As you and your dream change, some people will become disbelievers and others may come aboard. Hold tight to those who encourage and support when times are hard.