And it’s all o.k.

Did you think maybe we changed our minds? Nope. We closed on August 4th. Turned out to be really helpful to have started the slow-drip emotional processing so far in advance of the actual event. The day before closing, we still had way more stuff to deal with than anticipated. Jim and I were hustling to get it all done and I asked him if he noticed how, even practically empty, with nothing on the walls, it still felt like home – our home. He did. We left that day just before the buyer’s final walkthrough. We came back the next day and it felt completely different. Someone else had claimed it and it didn’t feel like home anymore. Packages started arriving for the buyer just as our belongings were going out the door. There was a sweet kind of symmetry to it. I did not have to be physically removed, after all. We said our goodbyes, wished the new people well, thanked the house again for everything and made it to closing just in time. Then we came back and picked up all the stuff we’d thrown in front of our next door neighbor’s house at the last minute. (They were on vacation. We’d slept there the night before after the movers put our bed and everything in the POD.)

If you’ve been keeping up with our move, you might be surprised to know that it was a crazy mess at the end. We were so organized, had such a great plan, a plan that left us with absolutely nothing to do but clean and reminisce over coffee and treats for two days before closing. Where did we go wrong? Did we actually go wrong? I don’t know. All I know is the POD wasn’t quite big enough and there were a few more trips to storage, a lot of last-minute giveaways and now our friend Donna has a considerable amount of our stuff in her garage. Other items, some plants here, a djembe there, a jewelry box over there, are dispersed throughout the neighborhood for later retrieval.

Although the POD wasn’t big enough, it was the biggest one they had. That really is an incredible service. They drop it off and pick it up and bring it somewhere else when you’re ready. We had EXPERT movers, one of whom had clearly grown up on Tetris, who did an incredible job of loading it. We just had a lot of stuff. Jim had an art studio in the basement that included painting supplies, printing supplies, lead type for letterpress (o.k., that’s mine), a drawing desk and a flat file. So many boxes. Fortunately, we’d sold a lot of furniture to Cozy Home the week before. More on that in a bit.

Let me backtrack here. About a week after my last MWM post, I got COVID. I’ve had every shot and wasn’t afraid like I would have been a year earlier. It was kind of miserable but not so bad that I couldn’t read a good book while spending a few days in bed. What really put me off my game was that fatigue I’d heard so much about. Luckily, it only lasted a couple of weeks but, WOW, that is no joke. Jim got it about 5 days after my symptoms started. He called his doctor and was on Paxlovid immediately. That stuff is great.  

 The COVID experience was winding down at about the time our friends, soon to be neighbors, were visiting from Colorado. They made other arrangements for the first few days, then moved in with us when one of the friends they were staying with got sick. Anne hadn’t seen the new digs in Belleville yet and we were all excited to get her out there. One day, we just went out there and looked around. She loved it! Whew! The next day we met with the builder, ate at the J&M Tavern in town and decided that their Monday “breakfast for dinner” night would be a regular thing for us in the fall.

Somewhere in there, our friends and neighbors-family, really, in our hearts- had a farewell party for us. Oh my. I meant to make sure they didn’t do that and I’m so glad I forgot to get that word out. It was a beautiful outpouring of love and good wishes and singing and a memory book and, and, and… Also, those people THROW DOWN for a potluck! These relationships will continue to grow and deepen. I’ve given a lot of thought lately to the saying, “Home is Where the Heart Is”. I used to think of it as a place to get to. Now, I realize it comes with me.

Our first 9 nights out of the house where we used to live, were spent in an Air BnB parked RV on a farm in Sun Prairie. We are currently on night 6 of a 7 night stay with friends in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where we spend time every year. There was a night in between where we stayed, again, at the house next door to the one we just left, leaving the morning of the day those friends returned from their vacation. We have not had a moment’s feeling of being displaced. From here, we’ll stay with friends, maybe go back to that RV on the farm for awhile and wait for John and Anne’s house to be ready. We’ll stay with them, then move into ours a couple of weeks after that (picture crossed fingers emoji here). Oddly, this does not seem overwhelming. My mom made an excellent point when she suggested that this was much better than working so hard to get out of our house only to go directly to a new one that needed to be set up.

Speaking of working hard, that last week or two before closing brought an influx of business that was equal to about half of last year. On closing day, I was sitting in our empty house, writing an offer for buyers (which was later accepted!) on the house across the street. At the same time, we were negotiating our own transaction because, of course, some random thing came up in the walkthrough. The internet was scheduled to be disconnected that day but, TA-DA!, it all got done. It was not clear until 2:00 that our 4:00 closing would actually take place. It all worked out.

Before I cut you loose, I’ve got to tell you about how great our experience was with The Cozy Home (https://thecozyhomemadison.com/) people and Big Dog Movers (https://bigdogmoversllc.com/). First of all, the owner of Cozy Home came by and I showed her all the things I’d like to sell, opting for direct buy vs. consignment. She got back to me with an inventory list of what she could and couldn’t use, along with a price. Seemed reasonable to me and from there we scheduled a pickup. The two guys who came to load up the truck could not have been more pleasant or more efficient. Our enormous dresser got stuck in our narrow stairwell and it took a lot of patience, and some drywall, to get it out of there. To be clear, Jim finally said to go ahead and not worry about the wall (which he expertly repaired right away). They were working so hard and it was so stuck, and they were being so careful. As frustrating as it was, they never lost their cool and that kind of attitude impresses the heck out of me. So, now we were down to mattresses on the floor and minimal other furniture. It was kind of nice.

The POD arrived on a Monday. By the way, they are serious about that clear height requirement. I wasn’t worried about it but the power lines running over our driveway and across the street did turn out to be an impediment to the tilt required for delivery. So it had to go in the street. A last-minute permit was procured. It was street sweeping day so there was plenty of space. There was also that pesky no parking rule. I caught Lovely Rita out front and explained the situation. She was satisfied with my explanation and we didn’t get a ticket for having a storage unit on the street.

On Tuesday, the movers came to load that baby up. These guys were unbelievable! They puzzled that space out and hustled like nobody’s business to fill it up. They seem to live on Gatorade. They lifted and individually carried items that I can barely budge and worked together so nicely. Again, a team of young, hard-working guys who were just delightful to have around. We’re hoping to get the same team for the unloading. I warned them we’d be requesting them, though, in case they never want to see that stuff again.

That’s it for now. It’s a rainy day here in the UP. All the cabin windows are open and Jim’s strumming Harvest Moon on the guitar. Home Sweet Home.