Whew! It has been an incredibly eventful last 6 weeks. The main reason for our stay at this location on the Space Coast has been to sell mom’s house, sort through all her possessions from the last 65 years, pack up the items she is keeping, and help her with some closure on this period of her life.
We sold the house the second day that it was on the market and it closed this last Friday. I probably took over a hundred calls from the Zillow ad. It was a waterfront, pool home. Exactly what everyone wants when moving to Florida.
And many people are moving to this location. There are 3 or 4 large employers that are growing at alarming rates. Most related to the re-birth of the space industry down here.
I also placed a couple of dozen local ads for some of her belongings. Some sold, but much was given away or else donated to charities. Her car was sold to the next door neighbors. She has voluntarily given up driving.
Mom also selected her new independent care facility with the help of my brother Kevin. It is located on the north side of Indianapolis near Kevin.
One week ago, the movers were at the home to pick up her belongings for the 1,000 mile trek. All the small items were already packed in boxes by Trish and me. They just had to load it all on the massive 60 foot truck. They arrived at 8am and were finished by 11am.
After that, the home was empty. Many memories from over the 25 years of my parent’s retirement. It was kind of sad to go through each room, cleaning and vacuuming for the last time. I have always felt that my attachment to houses was kind of strange. Just an object after all.
Finally, on early Sunday morning I took mom to the Orlando airport for her flight to Indianapolis. Kevin was there waiting on the other end.
So, with that, I have retired again. In six weeks, I think that we accomplished many things. I have spoken to mom in her new apartment each day. She seems very happy with it. The 3 meals a day in the dining room and endless activities are what she wanted and needed.
During the last six weeks, it has been a huge amount of work. But it also has been great to be able to spend this much time with mom. I have not had this opportunity since my days before college. We had many long talks, played many games of cards, cooked meals at home and also went out to her favorites places. Said goodbye to all her old friends.
In 25 years I may be in a similar situation, God willing. I hope that my kids would be able to assist in a similar manner.
Trish also left last week to drive up to Virginia to see family and friends. Now she has braved the zero degree temps and snow to drive the 500 miles to see her mom in Indiana. She will be gone a couple of weeks before returning back to our warm Florida winter home.
Our stay here is also winding down. We leave on Feb 1st to go over to the gulf coast of Florida for the month. And then back to the adventures…
Take care and God Bless.
