Its not easy for us to be house guests. Our hostess and her family couldn’t be more accommodating, easy going and welcoming.
By the time Tom returns from work, reads the paper, showers and watches the news, he joins us in time for dinner. We’re both a little tired, yet to fully recover from the packing, the cleaning, the lifting and the hauling. We try to go to bed by 9 or 9:30.
I’ve been making dinner for six the past two nights, shopping creatively each day to accommodate the diet and likes of each of us in the group of five at Karen’s home. Mostly, they eat as we do; gluten free, chemical free, starch free and sugar free making this task easier than it might be for some.
We are enjoying dinners together, all of us sitting at their big square table, a table similar to ours in our now former home, about to be sold along with everything else we own, at our estate sale starting tomorrow.
Tomorrow morning, I’m scheduled to meet the estate sales people at our house at 7 am to review the final pricing on the bigger items. Its not easy. That which we found to be unique, custom made by devoted craftsmen and befitting our lodge-like lifestyle will have considerably less value to a potential buyer.
When done, I’ll leave, as requested by the estate sale people. Its too hard to see, they say…too hard to watch one’s lifetime belongings wander down the long narrow road to be placed into the bed of a truck or plopped into the trunk or back seat of a stranger’s car. Oh.
When I leave our home tomorrow morning, not to return until the sale ends, my dear friends/neighbors and I plan to have breakfast at our favorite local restaurant, The Hazellewood Grill for a meal and our final goodbyes.
There has been four of us girls as confidants, friends, helpers, supporters
(now down to three after Sue left for Florida last Saturday) all of these years. The goodbyes begin. I knew this was coming. I avoided dealing with it.
Yesterday, I watched our little three year granddaughter practicing for her upcoming dance recital next Tuesday, the day before we leave. I will be there. Tears welled up in my eyes watching her, knowing the time is near. Those little faces, those precious smiles, the delicate tiny hand to hold. Ah.
Awaking with a sore throat today, I best stay in and take it easy. Today, I must arrange for “renter’s” insurance for our personal belongings. We are cancelling our homeowner’s policy on Halloween.
We must set up insurance coverage for our luggage, clothing, digital equipment, all those items I posted here to enhance our world travel experience, all of those items for safety and security, all of those items for comfort and ease.
When the agent from State Farm in Henderson, Nevada suggested $15,000 in coverage in an email yesterday, I cringed. Our digital equipment alone will fall into that range. I will make an itemized list sending it to the agent today to ensure we are properly covered. Its worth paying a little more.
We must set up our new Nevada address and mailing service before the end of the week. I should have done this sooner. When I started the process of signing up yesterday, I realized that both of our signatures must be notarized. Oh, no. We must do this soon. Tom doesn’t get done with work in time to go to the bank. I’ve waited too long to do this. I’ll find a solution today.
A week from today, two hours from now, we’ll be packing Tom’s car to begin our journey. The retirement party will be over, the sale will be over, the tasks will be completed and the goodbyes will be shared. Ouch.