Triumphant Return by Susan L.

  It was a whirlwind, achy, satisfying weekend. I went down to my son's to help with the move into their new home. It was three days of organized chaos.
   On Friday, my son's mother-in-law put the first coat of paint on the guest bedroom as I painted the second coat on the living room. My son moved his collection of pets: tarantulas, an aquarium with an assortment of tropical fish and another with four Firebelly toads. Hearing them chirp in the night was a blast of spring music. It's a time consuming task. The cats were much easier to relocate!
  Saturday morning, the day of the move, I was up early to put a second coat of paint on the bedroom. After that, the walls and the upper cupboards in the kitchen were scrubbed as we waited for the truckload of things to arrive.
  There was a handful of young people who helped with the actual move. Tossing furniture around is a bit beyond me now. We moms began unpacking and sorting out the kitchen. Even if everything else is stacked in boxes, it's good to be able to put your hands on a spoon or a mug.
  It was a good move. No one got hurt, nothing was broken, no one lost their temper despite the fatigue by the end of the day. By four thirty, the truck was empty and the moving helpers left after having a feast on pizza and a drink.
  My son and I continued to putter, clearing a path to the couch by taking boxes to their assigned rooms, organizing others into neat stacks, tidying up the copious amounts of paper and cardboard on the back deck,  By eight o'clock, it was time to stop.
  We were all sore and utterly worn out.
  God bless the makers of Tylenol! Springtime muscles aren't the best for hard, physical labour.    
  Needless to say, when I got home yesterday after helping move the rest of the random bits from the apartment and putting a third coat of paint on the bedroom (yellow does not easily cover green!) I collapsed on the couch. Pumpkin was glad to see me home and demanded much deserved cuddle time.
  "Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!" Ps 107:21