I’m reminded of pledging a college fraternity, while facing “Hell Week.” In my case there was little hazing and certainly no deaths. This will be equally true this week, but it’s also proven not to be easy. I’ve been so busy that there hasn’t been time to even sit down and write. First, it was closing challenges, inspection reports, and packing that caused me to shorten my morning run to the minimum mile in the interest of time. Next, the packers finished a day and a half early, so the movers are coming tomorrow rather than Friday. All our hotel reservations needed to then be adjusted, putting the arrival time in Florida in further upheaval. I’m dealing with all these changes surrounded by stacked boxes and preparing to meet with a notary. It’s “Hell Week” and still early – who knows what will happen next? After all, April Fool’s Day is tomorrow!

I’ve needed my morning runs to relieve the mounting stress of relocating. Not surprising, both the doctor and dentist found my blood pressure levels to be high. I wanted to see all my specialists before getting settled in a new state with different Medicare benefits and new doctors to find. Naturally, once I changed all the hotel reservations the mover called back unable to arrange for essential street parking and changed back to the original dates, inconveniencing me and Mother Marriott with more unnecessary schedule modifications. Once again, we’re officially out of the apartment for good on Friday night. 

Tomorrow, I once again have a full day of relaxation before the move takes place. In the packing flurry today, they boxed my running shoes, windbreakers, and transistor radio – buried too deep to find. Would the running streak be in jeopardy? No – after we stopped by FedEx to send the notarized closing documents, I bought a new pair of Brooks Adrenaline to replace my missing pair. I’ll find them again in Florida during the unpacking process. We also found a missing pair of wireless Apple AirPods that will enable me to listen to the radio on my phone. I will also have to rely on the phone to track my runs since they also packed the recharging cord for my watch that will soon run out of power. Every time I turn around there’s something missing – my electric toothbrush and Advil were also victims of aggressive packing. It was like we were attacked by locusts (more than 10 packers) with little chance to protect what we’ll need between here and Florida. 

On the good side, I’ve been finding a lot of dimes this past week – more than pennies. I even went to the Coinstar machine to cash-in my jar of money. It turned out to be nearly $80, including what I’ve collected on the streets. In the coin return was a 1916-S Barber dime, a rare 105-year old find. I considered it a token of good luck, the third day in a row I had stumbled across a dime. I’m sure I’ve found well over $500 in lost coins over my 12-year running streak. Tomorrow, I’ll be taking a welcome break from Hell Week by putting on a fresh pair of running shoes. However, I’m convinced there will be more Hell to pay yet this week of transition.