Last Friday, July 27th, we set out on our way to Raleigh to move Kacie into her apartment. Getting ready was pretty crazy! For the entire past week, we worked everyday, getting Kacie ready to move. We sorted through Katie and Kacie's clothes, to determine whose was whose, and who got what. I told them, it was almost like a divorce, and dividing everything up. :) Kacie took the straightener, Katie got the blow dryer. Kacie took the chest of drawers, but left the TV. It was kind of comical actually. I don't know how many t-shirts Kacie ended up packing to take to Raleigh, but our largest suitcase was packed full of them. We also had to purchase a car for Kacie last week, and after driving around Franklin, contacting a billion dealerships, and two trips to Asheville, we purchased a Black 2007 Kia Spectra. It's very cute and gets great gas mileage.
Thursday evening, Mark and I packed Kacie's bed into the back of Katie's truck. She was nice enough to let us borrow it so we could haul stuff to Raleigh. We had a mattress, box spring, head board, foot board, chest of drawers, railings, and slats in the back of the Canyon. Mark had bought a new tarp to cover everything with, then we strapped it all down. Ready and good to go, right?
Boy were we wrong! Friday morning, we went to the Car City gas station to fill up, and the tarp was flapping pretty badly. I tucked it in as best I could, then headed to Nanny's, where we were all meeting. I borrowed some bungee cords, and strapped the tarp down a little better. We set out on the Sylva Road, but by the time we got to Top Cat gas station, the tarp was coming loose again. So we stopped, bought two more bungee cords, strapped down some more corners, and set off.
By the time we got to Candler, the tarp was coming off, and the mattresses were starting to shift. So Kyle, Nanny, and I stopped there to work on the straps, and Kacie and Kortney continued on to Raleigh (Kacie had to be in Raleigh by 3:30 to sign the lease on her apartment). Kyle and I started out by pulling everything off the truck. At this point, our brand new tarp was tattering. And it had pulled so much that a strap had come loose. So we pulled it all off. Then we started to try and figure out a way to restack everything so that it would ride better. We pulled the mattress and box spring off the truck at least 4 times. We finally decided that the biggest problem was the chest of drawers. It wouldn't allow us to lay the mattress and box spring down.
As you all know, my Nanny drives a big ol' Cadillac. So we thought, maybe the chest of drawers would fit in the trunk of her car! So we pull everything out of the trunk. It almost fit! We lacked maybe an inch. So then we thought, maybe it will fit in the back seat! Literally, it was too big by about 1/4 of an inch. It was so frustrating! Kyle and I were sweating like crazy, it was hot, and we were having trouble coming up with a solution. Then I thought, maybe it would fit in the back seat of the Canyon! I talked to Jesus at that point, and I just prayed that it would fit! So we start pushing and shoving, and after removing the cup holder in the middle, it fit! We were so relieved. Then, we just had to finish reloading everything else. After 45 minutes, we were finally back on the road! We just prayed that it wouldn't rain, since the tarp was basically useless at this point. Luckily, it didn't!
We finally got to Raleigh almost an hour after Kacie and Kortney did. She finished her paperwork, then we went to the apartment. It was really nice! Her roommate, Katie, was also there, and since one of the bedrooms was significantly bigger than the other, with a huge walk-in closet, they decided the best way to determine who gets which room, they flipped a coin. Katie called the toss, tails, but the coin landed heads. So Kacie got the room! We moved her bed in immediately, then went to grab some dinner, since none of us had eaten all day.
After 4 trips to Wal-Mart, 2 trips to Big Lots, and one trip to Target, we finally got pretty much everything Kacie needed for her apartment. We stayed overnight and finished setting up Saturday. We finished about 3:00.
Now was the hard part...saying bye. Katie and Kacie had said bye to each other the day before (Katie had volleyball camp at Gardner-Webb), and that was the saddest...thing...ever! I cried and so did they. But now we actually had to say bye. To our little, independent, stubborn, sassy, pretty Kacie. There were a few tears shed, but overall, I think we all did well. I must say, I am very proud of Kacie. Her roommate would not be back until Sunday night, and so she would be staying in the apartment all by herself, her first night officially away from home. And she insisted that we not stay any longer.
With me and Nanny in one car, and Kyle and Kortney in the truck, we headed back to Franklin. It was a crazy trip, but I feel like we brought a girl there, and left behind a young woman. I already miss Kacie's presence here. But I am so proud of her for setting out, living in an apartment, going to school at Wake Tech, and fulfilling her dream of playing college volleyball. I don't think I can say it enough. She is doing something none of us Peck kids did at her age. We all went to schools where we could live in a dorm, on-campus. Tommy and I stayed close to home. She's 5 1/2 hours away, living on her own in an apartment, paying bills, just like an adult. I'm pretty impressed!
So now I'm back here, running around like a crazy person, and I can't wait to see what this year has in store for her. I think she will be a stand-out on her team, and I can't wait to see how she handles her leadership position on her team. Lots more changes are in store for our family, and I can't wait to see where we all are a year from now.
