How My Movers Saved The Day (And Possibly My Marriage)

I have worked for TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® for nearly a decade. Consequently, much of my life revolves around moving. After all that time, you would think I would be prepared for my own move. You would be so wrong.

After six years in the only home I’ve ever owned, my husband and I decided it was time to move…I’m a planner with a few control issues, so when the move activities happened faster than expected, I started to freak out. It was all I could think about and worse, all I could talk about. When my poor co-workers asked, “So how is the move going?” they had to listen to me go on and on about how unprepared I was, how much stuff we had accumulated over the past six years, and how I still had boxes that I had not unpacked from the last move

There was never a question in my mind I would use our movers to move our belongings. When we moved into our last house, my husband decided that we should do it on our own.  “You’re making a big mistake”, I told him.  I’ll spare you the details of that move, but needless to say, it was the last decision my husband got to make. Now all of our life decisions are left up to me. So, with that power, I went over to the Lansing TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®, bought as many boxes as I could fit in my van, and booked my move. “The Move” had begun.

TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® moves more than 300,000 people each year, yet somehow I behaved like I was the only person on Earth who ever had to suffer through packing a basement. Naturally, I began to worry about everything I could think of. I was convinced that the movers were going to judge my packing abilities. So I packed each box delicately and with the precision of someone diffusing a bomb. When the night before the move came, my house looked like a warzone.

I began to chaotically toss things into boxes with reckless abandon—at that point we weren’t moving…we were evacuating. I barked orders at my family like a drill sergeant, with our motto being “Take only what you need to survive!” Needless to say, I went to sleep that night completely unprepared for the move.

Our movers arrived on time, which meant I was going to be that customer—the one who is still packing boxes while the movers are loading the truck. My husband and I had a lengthy discussion the night before about being prepared and how much I wanted to be all ready when the movers arrived. That was obviously a pipe dream. “It’s okay”, the lead mover told me “we’ll just start in another room while you finish this one.” Sweet relief!

The rest of the day went smoothly, but only because of the movers. One mover cracked jokes that distracted me from arguing with my husband. The other mover caught me watching worriedly as he moved a piece of furniture, and he flashed poster-worthy smile (he’s featured on many of the TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® marketing materials) that would remind me everything was going to be just fine. The movers probably saved years of my life by cutting down my stress level.

Ever since “The Move” I keep thinking about how much I depended on my movers that day. They were the only thing that made our move bearable. It was difficult only because I’m a procrastinator and a bit of drama queen. These guys deal with situations ten times worse than mine every day. I wonder if they realize what an impact they have. 

They were exactly what a neurotic person like me needs: TWO MEN AND A THERAPIST!