Once we got back to Middle Tennessee we set to going through the entire house and getting rid of anything non- essential. After living together for almost 10 years and living at our home for 7 years, we had amassed a lot of STUFF. We were donating, listing things on facebook marketplace, and had a big yard sale. Both because we needed to get rid of things and also because we needed every single penny we could get together for the move and getting the shop open.
Throughout the purging process we were also working on making inventory for the shop. We both were working full-time still while getting these things accomplished and the whole process almost seems like a blur.
We planned to be moving in sometime in September because the space needed renovations to accommodate us living there. We were super grateful to have the opportunity to make this all happen. Our families were very supportive and we quite literally could not have pulled any of this off without their help and guidance. Alan turned notice in about 2 months early at work so that they would be well prepared for when he left. Our consideration for the company he worked for ended up almost derailing all of our plans. Alan came home early from work one day and I knew something was wrong. Apparently, the company was facing having to lay someone off and while Alan would not have been their original choice, they felt like since he was leaving soon anyway that it made the most sense to let him go early.
The problem was that we were counting on 2 months of his pay to pull this all off. When I say we were on a shoestring budget that is honestly generous. We were doing this on the money we gathered from selling what we could and saving up over the months leading to moving to Gatlinburg.
We were faced with a major obstacle. Without those 2 months of pay, we really did not know how to move forward. I remember sitting down with Alan's parents discussing this and Alan saying that he did not think we would be able to pull it off. That we would need to call the owners of the Mountain Arts Center and let them know to not start the remodel because we just would not be able to make it. His parents both told us that we were doing this thing and that they would help us make it happen. That at this point this was a dream for everyone and that it would happen. We left their house determined to make it happen and to make this business work no matter what the cost may be. Our families were probably obviously worried about how fast this was all happening, but both of our parents were supporting our decision, despite how scary everything was.
The time flew by and before we knew it, it was time to book the moving truck. We checked in with the owners on progress on the shop/apartment and didn't receive word back right away. We began a bit of a panic. We had less than a couple of weeks, had to reserve the truck, and ultimately would not have a place to live on October 1st if we couldn't move in. We didn't have to panic for too long. We called again later and received word that we would be able to move in by October 1st.
We had originally hoped to move in beforehand to be ready to open by October 1st because it is typically the busiest month of the year in the area. But, we were relieved just to know that we could move by the time we had to be out of our home in Murfreesboro. We booked the truck and made plans to make two trips to Gatlinburg for the move. The first with the moving truck and the second with our car, truck, and with Alan's parents in tow to bring any remaining items.
Alan had mapped out a section of our living room to the dimensions of the box truck. He probably played the most intense Tetris game of his life that week while we tried to make everything fit.
By the time the truck was completely full with pretty much everything we owned (not pictured, somehow we cannot find that photo), we were absolutely exhausted. We slept on the blow up mattress that night, looking at the empty space around us, the reality setting in for the first time. We were leaving our home of the last 7 years. We were ready to, the old house had lots of issues, but we had loved the 28 acres it sat on and enjoyed the privacy and quiet. We knew we were moving somewhere where there would definitely be less privacy. But we were excited to be a part of this community and ready for drastic change.
We left for Gatlinburg the next day, planning to go and come back in the same day because we were now on a significant time crunch. I would be following Alan in the car so we could drop off the truck in Sevierville before heading back to Middle Tennessee. I was nervous the whole drive worrying about Alan driving the truck, especially once we got to the mountains. Everything still felt surreal and the fatigue was so significant at this point I think we were both on auto pilot. We arrived right before the sun was about to set and knew we had to unload the whole truck and get back on the road as quickly as possible.
We finished up around midnight and hit the road to head back to Murfreesboro (about a 3.5 hour trip). We were slap happy exhausted and despite our families insisting we just stay in a hotel for the night, we knew that we had way too much to do. I remember loading up on some late night Wendy's and getting on the interstate, having as much conversation as humanly possible to keep extra alert. We got home and collapsed onto the blow up bed, happy to sleep. We picked up our dog, Penny, who had spent the night at Alan's parents' house and started the last few days of cleaning and preparing to leave the house for the last time.
