Retirement Diaries 2023: Back in Minnesota

What a whirlwind it has been!

Mom and I spent some time on a leisurely drive across half the country, stopping to see a few sights along the way.  I got to see some places I had never been, even after making that drive a few times in the last year, so that was fun!  I’ll post separately about our trip!

After four days of road trip, mom and I arrived back in Minnesota on Friday evening.  In time for a delicious roast beef dinner!

The truck driver was already in the area, so Saturday he came over to scope out the house and plan for his crew on Sunday morning.  He had intended to unpack a few things, but with our help, we got about a third of the truck unpacked!  Sunday morning arrived with a steady rain, and the crew worked hard to unload.  Thankfully it didn’t rain all day, so there were lots of dry periods to bring things inside.  That said, it was an exhausting weekend!  I had a couple of hours after they left to get some beds made, a shower curtain put up and some of mom’s clothes unpacked.  She worked on getting her bathroom supplies unpacked.  Then her friend arrived from Alabama, so we went and had some pizza at one of the local restaurants at about 8 pm.

That night I slept the sleep of the dead once I was finally able to fall asleep…

The last few days I’ve been helping unpack for a few hours a day; everywhere you look there is a wall of boxes so there is plenty to do for a while. 

Meanwhile, I’m catching up on time with my family and kitties and trying to organize spaces in my own house too.  Cora and Yellow missed me!  It’s a bit chaotic after almost two and a half months away!  Plus I have things that my mom gave me, and things that were my dad’s, all needing to find a home at my house.  Last but certainly not least, I have been indulging my need of some downtime…  Everyone needs a break…

I hope you are well and easing into your summer routines!

 

 

 

 

Retirement Diaries 2023: On the Road

Two months and five days after I headed out to Washington on a one-way ticket, we drove away from mom’s home for the last 18 years…

It was the culmination of months of planning and preparing, purging and packing, organizing and assessing what one truly needs.  It was emotional and cathartic, bringing up memories of Dad, thoughts of family obligations and feelings of accomplishment.  It was so much hard work.  So many recycling totes, dump runs, scrap wood hauled away. Some laughter and tears, joy and frustration, and A LOT of sheer exhaustion.

Last Monday and Tuesday the packers came for a few more days to pack up the rest of the house that hadn’t been packed prior to staging the home.  They also packed what mom is keeping from the garage and the pole barn.

They were originally scheduled to load on Thursday June 15, but there was a little delay due to some bad rainstorms in Wyoming, which delayed the unloading of a load there…  Mud…  That sounds like a mess.  Fortunately, Saturday worked just fine for us.

Saturday dawned overcast and cold, and about 8:30 am the truck showed up.  A giant semi backed down the road (he’s an amazing driver to be able to back that sucker down mom’s road), and a crew of six guys assembled in the driveway. 

Soon it was an organized chaos of boxes and furniture being carried and carted out of the house to the truck.  The loadmaster (yep, that is what he is officially called) was responsible for playing a hugely complex game of Tetris in order to get everything into the truck safely.  It was stacked floor to ceiling, with no extra space for things to shift and fall.

It was a long day, with the guys finishing up and tying off the load about 6 pm.  They had hustled and moved all day long, and I did too, even though I wasn’t lifting boxes.  I answered questions, moved stuff out of the way that shouldn’t be loaded, swept out the empty spaces after something was moved, and tried to stay out of their way.  At the end of the day, mom and I were both completely exhausted, and my Fitbit recorded almost 20,000 steps.

The delay meant that I had a little more time to spend with friends, and a couple of chances to walk the beaches that I love.  Sometimes God just has a way of placing exactly what you need in your path when you least expect it.  After a peaceful chance to sit on a driftwood log, listening to the waves break and the breeze tangle my hair, I found this…  A perfect agate sitting in the rocks right after I stood to walk back to the car.  I had stopped, and looked down to find this beauty sitting at my feet.  It was meant to be…

This morning, mom and I packed up the rest of the car, ran a few last errands, and hit the road…  We will be sightseeing along the way, but unfortunately we can’t do too much since we will need to be there to meet the truck for the unpacking…  And then the work begins again…

Retirement Diaries 2023: Wrapping Up the Move

It feels like it has been ages since I’ve written… I’m sure it has been.

Meanwhile I have been keeping busy with purging the last of the things mom wants to get rid of and packing some. The movers came this week and packed the rest in a frenzy of wrapping, boxes and labeling.

I have been doing a brisk free pile business out at the road. My florescent orange spray painted FREE sign has drawn in customers; Facebook provides the rest. Sometimes I’m surprised by what goes so quickly. Sometimes I haven’t even finished putting things out and someone is stopping to load it up. Behold the power of the magical free pile.

I took my saddles and bridles to the consignment shop so they could find new homes and little girls to appreciate them. 35 years of riding horses… I felt a bit emotionally stuck after Biz died, but I was ready to let go of his gear. The rest was donated to a 4H group with kids just starting out. Hopefully horses teach those kids as much about life as they taught me.

I will be so thankful when I no longer spend hours vacuuming up dead bugs, cobwebs and sawdust in dad’s shop and the pole barn. I will not miss that chore…

I’m ready for a vacation!!!