As you know, we are at a major crossroad in our lives, and as Yogi Berra would say…” when you come to the fork in the road, take it!” We are taking it, and it is looking more and more wonderful. At least that is the positive Ellyn speaking, because being positive is a very important aspect to making any change. This change is especially dramatic, reflecting our lives of close to four decades in one home, raising our beloved daughters, and making memories only able to be made while young. I am reminded of fictional Shirley who was blind. When she needed more care, she decided to move to an assisted living facility. Leaving her apartment for the last time, she is helped into the taxi by her fictional doorman, Charlie. He says, “I hope your new home is nice, Shirley, and wish you good luck.” “Oh,” says Shirley, “It is beautiful, and I will love it.” Charlie responds, “how can you tell? You are blind,” “It is beautiful because I am embarking on an adventure, and I will see my new home as beautiful.” I want to have Shirley’s optimism, spirit, and determination. We are embarking on an adventure, and so far, so good.
The way station we have established for our transition to our Florida home is a temporary furnished apartment. Believe me, directing movers to Florida and our temporary apartment was a feat unto itself. But planning, and planning, and did I say, planning made the move much easier. Unpacking may take me all the four months we anticipate being there, but that is another story. We are finding our way in our new community and new town, locating the supermarket and various creature comforts we will need along the way.
Divesting ourselves of our possessions has been quite a process, and one that I began a few years ago. Naturally, we thought of everything we had acquired as a treasure, or we would not have purchased it. But preparing for the estate sale helped me to understand how much less I really needed of many of those items. Did I need as many paper party goods? Are there none in the store? And can we discuss black bottoms? That means black slacks, black capris, black trousers, black leggings, black wide-legs, and black skirts of all silhouettes. Don’t even get me started on the pair of black wide legs so wide that they actually could be a skirt. What was I thinking? And yet, somehow, THOSE I could not divest.
The estate sale was a success, thanks to my wonderful coordinator, known as Leave it to Linda. She rocks and has helped at every turn, donating, cleaning out, setting up and holding my hand as needed. We all need a Leave it to Linda in our lives. Her number is 908) 239-1071 and I recommend making her your first call after you decide to sell or clean out!
So, the end of this part of my saga is that many of our treasures were simply trinkets to others, while many of our trinkets became treasures to their new owners. It makes me smile to look at all that was donated, or found new homes, or simply filled whatever void they did. I am a happy girl knowing that by the time you read this, another family will be making memories in our home, their home, and I look forward to doing the same. After all, if we don’t believe in next chapters, why would we continue to write the book of our lives?
