On the greatest days of my life I am blessed by helping others. These are the days where I learn life lessons, make connections, and live the greatest stories.
I moved to Cedar Rapids years ago, now, and I met some incredible people. The best part is these people introduce me to others who are incredible like themselves. Through time and friends I met a witty writer with both class and good values. He had a joke for every occasion and a smart ass comment to add to any conversation: my kind of guy. I think what he’s worst at would be keeping that sly smile off of his face when he knows he is in the right, he has just not proven it yet.
I knew sooner or later he would find someone to share his life. I was not surprised when one night at Buffalo Wild Wings he was joined by a quiet woman who I really hoped to get to know better in time. If life was a poker game she would have had at least a few aces and a few queens in her hand. She was educated, cultured, and polite. I was happy to see another pair of glasses at the table.
I can remember asking where she worked. I will admit that when she said she was in between jobs with an engineering degree I was surprised. I mean I was surprised my friend was on a date with an engineer. I think she knew the potential within my friend, even if he himself did not. The first thing I remember us all doing was ordering alcohol. Out of the five of us only she and I ordered a beer. A beer drinking engineer? He better not mess this up…
Spoiler Alert: He did not mess things up. Half a year or so later that they had decided to get an apartment. I wanted to help them move in. There is no easy way to say this: I believe in them as a couple. I know I would get to see love in action and that is something some never realize they see. We all see love in action, we just have to be taught to see it. My mother made sure to teach me when to spot it. She even taught me to write it down.
Now telling the tale of a move step by step is boring torture to both a writer and a reader. Simply put my friend is moving from his roommate’s place and the engineer is moving from her mother’s house.
One of the greatest gifts ever given to me has been a Dodge Caravan. On the morning of the move, I put the seats down and drove across town to pick up my friend. They are smart enough to have already packed. I met her mother and brother, as well. The five of us were the whole crew. Loading up my van at her house did not take long at all. They also had a truck so this seemed easy enough. The drive from her mother’s house to the apartment only took five minutes.
Pulling up to his apartment building I was surprised by how nice it was. It was just me and my friend at this point. “Go left toward the very end I will tell you when to park” he said.
“Will do. What floor do you live on?” I asked not thinking about how much that answer impacted the next few hours of my life.
“The third floor.”
“OK, is the elevator in the front than?”
“Now that I think about it do most apartment buildings have an elevator?”
That was my answer. Nothing that you want is ever easy. The stairs and gravity are the antagonists in this story. Damn them… gravity and all that jazz
Again, I have no intention of describing in detail a day long move. I want to focus on small signs of affection like the few jokes or what made us smile. I would much rather focus on a well deserved break than tedious labor. I have our backs in this story. Most of what came from her house was what you would expect. Again. I refuse to describe a chair in detail. What type of chair? The type your butt goes in.
One item stands out above the rest of what she had. A pair of large size geese. They are charcoal gray and made of what seems like heavy plastic. Outside from a distance the pair would look like two real wild geese. They are large enough that you would use both your hands to move one. They seemed fragile enough to break if you dropped them. I and my friend shared a once in a lifetime moment as we each grabbed a goose to carry it up three flights of stairs.
“You see this is what happens when you live with a woman.” I said with a smile on my face. I continued, “You end up doing something just damn strange that you could never predict. Your life gets better because there is just more too it.”
“Meh, in time I learn everything. Just don’t drop the goose.” I can say with complete honesty that I made sure to securely carry my goose up the stairs. I think he had already figured out priorities in a relationship.
Hours passed of us five moving both stuff and things. Lets cut to lunch. Oh good! Pizza so we do not die! Dominoes; I really like the place since they redid their recipe. Two pizzas were enough, a meat lovers and a supreme. Her mother brought dessert in the form of some awesome bakery pecan rolls. I think that today must have been the hardest for her. I think in the future this will be a positive memory in all of our minds. I see people work together for a common goal and then share the rewards together. The little things make it worth remembering; those stairs make me want to forget.
The van was easy enough to unload and her mom and brother brought the truck. An engineer has a lot of books. That is a good thing don’t get me wrong. Gravity is quickly becoming our enemy based on how many books were in this truck. Those books have both the past and the future in them. They both proved their intelligence by keeping all of those wonderful books that have impacted them. Now they can share some of those books with each other to have a great effect on their relationship.
I just hope my friend that reads and writes books does not have many books. We all know the answer to that. We made small talk about the past while moving toward their future. What did the my friend and I talk about first? PlayStation 4 or anime would be my guess. Our lives have changed, that is for sure. I write with complete confidence that our lives have changed for the better. One problem guys face is you cannot simply thank your friend for being your friend. It would be strange. You have to write them a mediocre short story telling them.
The final trips up those stairs were the hardest for us. I know that to be true, because we all worked together carrying up the final items as a team. None of us could give up. None of us would have. The engineer would never quit, otherwise she would not be an engineer. My friend has to prove how serious he is about her. I myself have to prove I believe in them. We were all in pain, the reward is greater than the pain so we go back down three flights of stairs just to go back up again.
Like everything in this world we eventually reached the end. Now that I think about it with tears in my eyes we reached the beginning.
I am thankful for those three flights of stairs. I think on the first day my friends lived together they accomplished more than other couples simply by overcoming a great burden. Their reward was simply a home with each other and another day ahead of them. I know that they are thankful for both.
In the end I am thankful for those who we choose to walk up each step with. I am thankful that in his own awesome way my friend found what he wanted.
Gravity, stairs and heat exhaustion-0
True love-1
Never give up on life. Never give up on love.
That’s it, that’s all:
-Nathan Hall