The only positive thing about my brief facebook experiment last year was that an old friend reached out to me. In high school we were good friends. We’d round up a group of our mutual friends and go to dances, haunted houses, miniature golfing and more. She remained my friend even though I would consistently…
It’s All Coming Together
Everything’s coming together. In two weeks, I’ll be off on my journey. Both cats are safe and appear to be happy in their new loving homes. The house is under contract. The inspection, survey and appraisal are done. We’re now just waiting for the closing in April. I pick up my camper next week.
If You Think Your Stuff Is Valuable Try Selling It On Craigslist
I’ve moved more than 20 times. In the early days, we’d rent a truck, pack our stuff in boxes from the liquor store and recruit my friends to help. Afterward, we’d eat pizza and drink beer. As I got older, it got harder. My friends no longer wanted to help, our furniture got heavier and…
Leatherman Dude
One of the items my experienced traveler friend Craig told me to buy was a leatherman multipurpose tool. Since there are a gazillion models, he took pity on me and sent me an Amazon link for the Leatherman Wingman. I laughed. I said, “What do I need this for? I have an entire garage full…
Every Single Day
I miss my wife every single day. In the mornings, after I wake up, walk the dog and brush my teeth I miss hearing her sleep while I tiptoed around the house trying not to wake her. When I pause to catch my breath during exercising I think of her and cannot believe she’s gone….
Death Cleaning
I am listening to an audiobook, “The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning”. The author writes about a Swedish method of decluttering called döstädning (death cleaning). This is a process of clearing out unnecessary belongings that can be occur at any age or life stage. The author says it should be done now, while you…
Bare Walls
My house is sold. To be more precise, it’s under contract, the appraisal was completed, the inspection finished and we negotiated a post-inspection agreement. I have three weeks to completely empty the house before the closing date. It just got real. Yesterday, I took down all of our wall art and packed it up for…
If…Then
When I was a small child, I thought that if I was strong like a superhero and never cried, then nothing would hurt me. This belief stuck with me from childhood through my teens and into my early twenties. Sometime around age 22, I realized this didn’t work. But after meeting my (future) wife and becoming…
Goodbye Sweet Tiger Lilly
Today Lilly left with her new owner to go to her new home. Lilly was my everyday companion for the past 3.5 years. We got her a few months after our two other cats died and I came up with a scheme to get a kitten for my grieving wife. Two hours later we returned…
Ashes
In my hallway closet there are two boxes of ashes. One box contains the cremated remains of my daughter Liz, who died in 2006. The second box contains my wife’s ashes. After Liz died, Ellen and I held onto her ashes. Early on, we discussed putting them at the base of an ancient live oak…