My Job: Stressing Movers.

A good place to tutor!

Note the long van and the smaller U-haul truck.

Yesterday I got a text that made me laugh. A client told me her movers thought I was tough. One of my tutoring clients moved from Duluth, Georgia to Houston, Texas.  I have tutored her kids for 4 years and now I Skype with then. This move has been a year in the making and the client couldn’t be at the house to supervise the packing. She managed 1 day to pack her own personal things and meet the men who would do the packing and moving. She gave me key when she left last January, so I used it to let the men in and lock up after they left. She also suggested I could spend time at the house I call The Mansion and Skype with her kids from the office we used together. It seemed like a good idea and I really did like the house. I have Internet at home, but she mentioned it a dozen times, so I figured she wanted me there.

I was free to come and go as I pleased, but I considered that when the movers left for lunch the house would be left open and unattended unless I stayed during that time. I am a worrier, so I stayed in the house and worked on my computer when I wasn’t elsewhere tutoring. The last two days I reminded the men about things they had left until last or just forgotten. On the last evening when the men seemed done, I did a walk-through of all 3 stories and texted my client about things the men hadn’t packed. Some things were to stay and be used by the real estate person and then be donated to charity.  Several other things the men had just plain forgotten, like a huge basketball hoop and a bench on the front porch. I know they forgot the basket ball hoop  because it had been raining for more than an hour and it was definitely dark when I reminded them. I saw them rearranging stuff in the moving van because they wouldn’t hadn’t left room. Note the U-haul truck they used like a wagon to take furniture and boxes down a killer hill driveway to the van parked on the street.

You know you have room for one more Christmas story on your Kindle and on your bookshelf!

https://goodreads.com/author/show/4909455.Mary_Marvella

http://www.MaryMarvella.com

https://www.facebook.com/mmbarfield

The Christmas-Promise

The Christmas Promise is a short story about a woman whose husband was abusive. She and her college age kids must face their first Christmas together since she charged their father with assault and had him arrested.

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling and Moving Short Story

By Elizabeth Horton-Newton, Author on January 17, 2016

Normally I would not review a Christmas story in the middle of January. However, “The Christmas Promise: A Short Story” by Mary Marvella is so compelling I think it applies to any time of year.
Writing about domestic abuse is not an easy thing. If you have experienced it, it is a painful telling. If you have not experienced it, it can be difficult to relate to. Whatever Ms. Marvella’s personal story, her story of a woman’s abuse is powerful.
Beginning with the gripping details of Beth’s beating by her husband, Ms. Marvella tears away the curtain that hides domestic violence from public view. While her son sings in the kitchen Beth wakens from a terrifying nightmare where she relives her near death attack.