Maynard, whatever did we do to you?

The big news is that Amanda and I are moving to Maynard.  And we’re calling in all the favors.  After 3 years of not moving, we’re a little out of shape for it, and a little more entrenched than we normally might be.  And we’ve already got unavoidable plans in the near future.  But I get ahead of myself.  Some details:

We’re moving to Maynard.  Maynard is on the west end of Concord, right up against Acton.  For those who are geographically challenged, that’s about 25 minutes west on Route 2 from Somerville, about 15 minutes northwest of Waltham.  Yes, we’re joining the Great Route 2 Coalition, seeing as we have friends all along the route from Somervile, into Belmont, and all the way through Acton and out to Lunenberg and Fitchburg.  We’ll be in the middle of all that.  And as a plus, mere minutes from Walden Pond.

We’re starting packing as soon as I drag empty boxes down from the attic, as our lease in the new place starts on September 1.  We’ll have our current place through the end of September, so with any luck we’ll actually make it out in time.  Between here and Oct. 1 we already have a wedding to go to, a nonrefundable weekend in NH, and a handful of other minor commitments.  Plus, we’d like to avoid hiring movers for all but the biggest/hardest items (couch, china cabinet, washer/dryer, so on), and if things go well, we might not even need that.

So we’re calling in all the favors.  We’ll need many hands to make light work, and even if you only have a little time to give, we’ll take it.  Packing, shlepping, and supporting are all called for.  We pay well in pizza and beer, or junk food equivalencies of your choice.  As a side effect, you’ll likely get a sneak preview of the new place.

Some of you might be asking why? To be blunt, if you’ve followed along you’ve seen hints and pieces of our frustrations with the condition some parts of this place are in, and with getting the landlords to do anything that doesn’t qualify as a legally liable emergency.  We stayed here as long as we did because it was convenient for Amanda’s schooling, which she finished up in May, and because there are actually many charming aspects to the current place (not the least of which were our fabulous neighbors), but we’re at the point where we -can- make the change, and are ready to trade in some things to get others in return.

Please, let us know if you can help, and when.  From here to September 1, it’ll be packing stuff, so Labor Day weekend will be our first big push.  Help before and after is greatly appreciated, but if you can only give a little time, that’s when we could use it most.  We know a lot of people have plans for the long weekend though, so if you’d rather help another time, we’ll take that too.

Thanks.