Moving: adjective

Nineteen years next February, my husband and I got married and bought this house. It was a new beginning for both of us – we were opposed to moving into one another’s digs and realized that a fresh start was in order. We were blessed to find the Perfect House – room for both of us to have our own workspaces and a delightful home in a very wonderful neighborhood. From time to time I would visualize moving again – and quickly clamped down that possibility. Then, the inevitable happened – we woke up much older than we had been and started experiencing some limitations that come with having so much to care for and so, so many stairs. I modified my body with new knees and various orthopedic interventions, but it was clear that we needed a change.

After owning several homes, it never occurred to me to consider living in an apartment or condominium, until I did some research. It seems that the American Dream that we had attained had some hidden down sides – basically, I had begun to feel that this house owned us. We had to finance so many repairs and forgo vacations in favor of staying behind to nurture our garden that we had lost every shred of freedom that we had attained. I began to look at apartments and was pleasantly surprised to learn that there are quite a few out there that I could imagine living in. We settled on a 3 bedroom, 2 bath place with two balconies, on the ground floor and with its own exterior door. I mention these two amenities as I dreaded living in a high rise or feeling like I was living in a hotel. As a retired hippie, I need to feel in touch with the earth under my feet, and our unit overlooks a lake, with no direct view of any streets or driveways. I think it will be just the thing for us. We were pleased with the young men who manage the property, and the deal was clinched when I learned that we could keep our bird feeders. We will be living pretty much halfway between our son and daughter and their families, and not at all far from where we are now. The town is Little Canada, which I have always like the sound of.  Very Minnesotan.

The packing has been brutal, which was no surprise. So many things to look through, so many art supplies that I have not used since I got them. I started by making a floor plan on graph paper for the bedroom that will be my new studio, so that I could plan on how much I could keep. It’s not bad, actually, and I have been creative in much smaller spaces. We have our own separate thermostats, another plus, as I am always warm and he is always cold. We will be moving in two stages – the first will be all our “living” stuff (beds, clothes, chocolate, coffee, basic creature comforts) and the second will be all the rest, once we decide what we are keeping. I have been an active contributor to Marketplace and the Buy Nothing Group, which had the added benefit of meeting some pretty cool folks and like-minded individuals. Once we get that first move done, the other stage should go pretty quickly. (fingers crossed!) Oh, and did I mention I will have a pool and gym right there? I was happy to find a community that isn’t over filled with amenities that we will never use, and includes a community room where I can continue to hold my Friday Night Salons once the dust settles.

I want you to know just how grateful I am for you. Thank you for letting me be a part of your lives. It’s the privilege of a lifetime, and one that I feel grateful for each and every day. I could not have attempted this without the love and support of my dear friends and family members.