Necessary Mutilation

Weight: 198.4 lbs.

I got the best workout of my life yesterday evening. It had nothing to do with exercise equipment. It did have to do with Pete’s early morning call from Saranac Lake, asking if Tom and I could help him unload the piano and other furnishings he was enroute with from his recently deceased mother’s estate. He had been driving a U-Haul for days, loaded with all of his mother’s things, dropping them off at various siblings homes along the route. Apparently his home in North Buffalo was the last stop, and he had chosen rather large items for himself.

So, Tom and I both drove there straight from work, with me shaving of the last hour or two to get there by 5:00. Although I didn’t do much to unload the couch and table and piano, as he did have some good man help, the real fun began after Pete left to return the U-Haul, and then his brother, back to Rochester, NY.

That’s when his upstairs tenants and our friends, along with myself, decided that it was time for Pete to have something like an extreme home makeover. And between moving the piano and couch and tables into their desinated (by us!) spots, and redecorating his main room in the process, we remained at his house until nearly 8:30, frequently commenting that he was either going to love it or be angry with us…and as I write this, I am still not sure what his reaction was when he likely returned home in the wee hours. Pete, if you are reading this, your taxes are now in boxes in the hallway, your screwdrivers are no longer in the entertainment center but in the computer room, and I moved your puzzles into the shelf in there too. Hope you’re not mad and groping around for things.

Erin and I especially were quite pleased with Pete’s new look, although had we time and druthers, we may have continued past his living and dining rooms, and into nether regions of the house. But, at least the piano has a lovely new home and is adorned with his mother’s sconces and other antiquities, and his main rooms have never looked more stylish and well… furnished. We were exhausted and aching, and as for Tom and I, neither of us had eaten since much earlier in the day, and so we were starving too. I am sure that I moved more and lifted more than I ever had on our downstairs equipment, and attribute today’s weight loss to this, and the minimum of calories that I had time to consume yesterday. Although I did scarf down some leftover burger salad when we finally got home late last night, this plus the two cheese sticks and few nuts I had at work, and burger salad breakfast, could hardly be called much for the day.

All told, I am grateful for the opportunity to have moved furniture and my butt and I must thank Pete for this. Now I only hope now that he feels the same gratitude for us!