This afternoon, Bill and I drove over to the "sticks and bricks" house to make
sure we had everything cleared out. We’ve
been living in “The Cabin” (RV) at a nearby campground since April 24. This allowed us to let potential buyers have
access to view the property at any time.
No dog barking, no cat box worries, no chance of clutter.
On Wed. we’ll close on the house, turning the keys over to
the new owners. Our walk through was a little bittersweet, since it is where our life together began 16 years ago. The
spaced seemed empty and without life. On the other hand, it felt as though it
were waiting to be filled with new life.
Our younger daughter graduated from college, got married 2
days later, and recently moved to California to be with her Marine husband. Life is very fluid right now.
Our departure date is common knowledge now that we have told
our bosses we are leaving on a long trip Sept. 2. Our plan is to slowly travel across the
country, living in our RV, and carrying a limited amount of belongings, having
sold, donated, or discarded anything that doesn’t spark joy in us. The overwhelming majority of people have been
very excited for us and expressed that they wish they could do that or know
someone who did that or just “I’m so happy for you!” A very few people have looked at us like we
had rocks in our heads.
The exhilaration is breathtaking sometimes. The unknown path is both exciting and scary. Leaving
my older children and 2 grandchildren is saddening. But the world is a much smaller place than it
used to be. We have video chat, email,
texting, blogging, and airplanes that are safer than road travel. We’ll still be a family and can be close in
other than geographical ways.
We have visitors this week in the lot next to ours. Peggy and John, Bill’s sister and her
husband, are here so we can plan a little, but not too much. We are caravanning with them on our trip. The only concrete plan we have is Albuquerque
on Sept. 29. A country concert for them
and a mass ascension of hot air balloons on Oct. 1.
I have a list of must sees and would-like-to-sees and I’ll elaborated
later. But none of us wants to lock
ourselves into a set schedule or itinerary. This is about letting life take us where it
will.
