STRUGGLING WITH SERENDIPITY
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new keys

11/28/2018

8 Comments

 
Picture
We prepared for another 12-hour trek. I drove with both of my girls in Maria’s Ford Focus from Tiffin to Cambridge. No hatchback or chair topper. We stuffed the small car to the hilt with Maria’s belongings—plus a wheelchair. Beth sat cramped in the back seat for the all-day drive. We planned to get her out of the car to wheel around or move the contents to give her a different position, but Beth shifted on her own and chose to stay put to get to her dorm faster. We drove directly to Pforzheimer House, where Maria and I camped out in Beth’s suite that night. In the morning, a real estate agent showed us apartments.
 
Maria would start her new teaching job in less than a week.
           
After viewing several places, Maria decided to rent the second floor of a house near Davis Square in Somerville to avoid the even higher rent in Cambridge. She could move in the next morning. Next, we shopped for a bed. Maria picked one to be delivered the next afternoon.
           
Maria and I slept in Beth’s dorm room one more night. Bright and early the next day, we unloaded the contents of her car into the empty apartment. Maria brought her shopping list for a Target run. We made it back in time for the bed to be delivered.
           
The new box springs wouldn’t fit up the narrow, winding stairway to her apartment.
 
The young delivery guys tried another way. One precariously balanced on the front porch steps and pushed the box springs straight up to the other who leaned over the second-floor balcony. Success. I stayed two more days before flying back to Ohio and treasured the time.
 
I admired Maria’s bravery in moving to an unfamiliar big city with her sister the only person she knew. 
 
Next: Another emergency room visit!          
8 Comments
Jason Rhode link
11/28/2018 10:15:38 pm

Change's scary good, yes? When I moved out, my brother and I roomied. Congrats, Maria!

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Cindy Kolbe link
12/5/2018 09:22:06 pm

Yes, I think change is generally good, too. Thanks, Jason!

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Peg Moir
11/29/2018 08:36:20 am

Your children get their strength and courage from you! What wonderful role models you and John have been.

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Cindy Kolbe link
12/5/2018 09:29:44 pm

I remember plenty of times I didn’t feel strong or brave, but I truly appreciate the compliment. Thanks, Peg!

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Jenny Grass Dagostino link
11/29/2018 04:25:16 pm

I am so proud of your families Courage and strength. You are truly blessed with a strong family! You will always find a way.

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Cindy Kolbe link
12/5/2018 09:43:41 pm

Thanks, Jenny! I’m glad you reached out, and we had the chance to talk on the phone. Our stories really do matter. All the best to you and Taylor!

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Amy Henry link
12/2/2018 10:50:05 pm

I lived in Somerville when I first moved to Boston in the 1980s. Davis Square was a great neighborhood. I also have experienced the mattress that would not fit up the narrow (winding) staircase, but we had a determined moving man who MADE it fit LOL. I watched him, thinking "That mattress will never leave this house."

Another delightful glance into Maria's life.

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Cindy Kolbe link
12/5/2018 09:52:28 pm

Thanks, Amy! I love how our paths have taken us to the same locales but at different times. Davis Square is still an interesting neighborhood, but Cambridge and Harvard Square will always be my favorite places in Massachusetts.

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