moving furniture

[boxofdelights]

I decided to say yes to the offer of the giant bookcase, and to put it here: This is the window that would get covered up. The bookcase on the right could be moved to the adjacent wall, and the bookcase on the left can go replace the jankiest bookcase in the house. I can get a smaller dog crate; I doubt I'll have 70+ lb. dogs again.

Here is the east window, that won't be covered up.


seascribble asked about feelings or memories of the giant bookcase, which I don't have; it came from the house my mom built with her second husband, when he was retiring. When they were moving into that house, my mom offered me the furniture from the bedroom I used to share with my sister, for my daughter. I said no, thank you. We lived very frugally then, and I felt like I ought to accept it, but I didn't want to. My mom tried to convince me that I did want it, but I kept saying no.

She said, "I'll ask [your very young daughter] whether she wants it!"
I said, "Don't do that."
"I'm going to send it to you anyway. The thing is, it'll cost $800 to ship it."
"Is it even worth $800?"
"Yes it is! They don't make them like that anymore." That part is true: moderately-priced furniture now is mostly particle board and plywood, and this bedroom set was mostly wood, but it wasn't hardwood, and it had a lot of wear.
"Then why don't you sell it for $800 there, and you'll be $1600 richer?"
"I don't want to let people in my house! You put an ad in the paper, and people come just to look around and see what you have that's worth stealing, and what your locks and alarms are like."
"...The house that you're moving out of?"
"I don't want to let strangers in my house!"

Okay then. A few weeks later I got a call from the moving company. They were going to deliver on Tuesday, and I owed them $800. I called my mom.

"I don't know how that happened, I was so busy with the moving, I had so much paperwork to get through, it must have got lost in the shuffle. Just give them the money and I'll reimburse you, okay, honey?"

Here's the thing: I had learned the hard way that my mom would not reimburse me. No matter whose idea it was, or who it was for, or how much or little it was, or how many times I reminded her, she was not, ever, going to give me cash. But I couldn't say that. I may think a lot of harsh things, but I couldn't say them. But she had outsmarted herself this time.

"They say it has to be cash or a cashier's check. I don't have that kind of money sitting around the house."
"Don't be silly! Just give them your credit card."
"I don't have a credit card."
"Why don't you have a credit card?"
"Why would I have a credit card?"
"Then what are you going to do?"
"I'll have to let them keep the furniture and sell it to cover the debt."
"Don't do that! Let me take care of it."

And she did. But I only won that staredown because 1. I did not want the furniture and 2. I had a valid reason to keep saying, "I'm afraid I can't do that, Dave." If the moving company had been willing to take a personal check, I would be out the $800.

So I'm kind of worried that this time, even though I have it in writing (in text) that "Mom will pay for shipping it out to you," that now that I've said I want it, Mom will decide that, since she is giving me this desirable object, really when you think about the least I can do is pay for the shipping.

Comments

[jesse_the_k]

So, not so much a gift horse as a gift raccoon, willing to sneak into your life and smash things at random.

The east window view is lovely!