Today is Friday. Provided our direct deposit ever gets here we will be leaving Monday. Or Tuesday. Hopefully before Thursday.
It's been one of those unseen bumps in the road. For eight years we had banked with a pre-paid debit card. And it worked great. Until it didn't. Now we are waiting for the State of Michigan to get King's pension check into our new (local) bank so we can hit the road.
Sigh. Small hiccups.
Despite our financial disaster we are slowing emptying the house. I am sewing like crazy...trying to use up my leftover fabric. When I decide I've sewn enough the rest of the materials and sewing supplies will be donated to the re-sale shop at the Al-Van Humane Society. I've already made several trips to the shop to donate other items.
We brought nine boxes of "treasures" to our son's house to keep in his storage shed. Forty-two years of collecting pared down to nine boxes. King went through all our photo albums and divided photos for each of our four children. I think it was easier for him to pass the photos off than to actually get rid of them.
In the meantime we have been avoiding buying groceries by eating food from the freezer. When you get down to the bottom of the freezer you realize why the food at the bottom is there. I look at some of the things in there and say to myself, "What was I thinking when I bought that?" They are not exactly yummy items. King is not impressed with my creative endeavors. He bravely eats whatever I fix (I suspect because he can't cook). But I have to admit, I'm not impressed either. Last night's invention was eggs, cheese, rice and pumpkin, seasoned, mixed and baked. Don't try it.
So while we are getting ready for change, we are also trying to come to grips with the reality of what we are about to do. The realization that there is going to be a lot of "togetherness" for quite some time is quite sobering. In the past, during those instances when the "bliss" seemed to be missing from "marital bliss," King would disappear to the workshop next door or I would take the dog for a long walk. Now I guess my alternative will be to hang my head out the truck window, or squeeze out the back window and ride in the truck bed. King, who never relinquishes the driving duties to me, will have to settle for giving me the silent treatment. He's pretty good at it.
We are also saying our goodbyes to as many friends and family members as possible.
King is getting in as much golf as he can with our sons (much to the annoyance of our daughters-in-law) and I have had farewell lunches with friends, cousins and my sister. I must confess, my sister and I are having a difficult time saying goodbye. We had a farewell dinner this week and decided to do "one more breakfast" on Saturday.
She and I know we will be back next summer. Just not to the place King and I have called home for the past eight years. It's not necessarily a bad thing. Just a change.
And things truly do change.
The new owners of the farm are settling into the routine of the place. Or creating their own. King is still stoking the fire and feeding the chickens and rabbits. He still gets out the leaf blower and keeps the yard leaf-free. The main tree in the front is an oak, so we will be long gone when it finally sheds its last leaf.
Long gone. Wow. That thought is rather exhilarating and sobering at the same time.
People ask if we are prepared for this. Well, yes. As much as anyone can prepare for the unknown.
I have been mapping our route for several weeks. Since our exact departure date is now up in the air, the route may change somewhat. Then again, if this trip is the same as the last trip, our route will change daily. Most time the changes are made on the fly while we are debating the merits of whatever talk show host is spewing left-or-right-winged politics. It seems the needed exit looms on the right lane and we are in the far left lane (no political analogy intended), and the debate changes to who was not paying attention. Maps, GPS and campground books are pulled out and spread out across the cab of the truck. Generally 40 miles later we decide this new route is probably the better one anyway.
So ready or not we will soon be off on our adventure.
