I’ve discovered this entire process is about solving one puzzle after another – lining them up and knocking them down. To work all the issues in parallel would be madness, so I think in terms of milestones. The June beach trip was a milestone for us, done. Telling my family was a milestone, done. Listing the house in July was the next milestone, done. And now we’re coming into the final stretch of two major milestones – getting Gen off to college and closing the sale of this house.
Here’s where we are:
- We have 12 days, less than 2 weeks, before we move Gen into college on August 21st. Half of my heart, my constant companion for the last 5 years. I am excited for her, but at the same time I dread that day. For those of you who have never experienced leaving your child at college – it is the overwhelming feeling of having run out of time, of wishing I could go back and start over knowing what I know now. Chris and I have never been those parents whose lives revolve around their kids, but as a mother – the separation, the realization that that moment in time when your child lived at home is over – it is excruciating. And so, you spend the last two weeks before they leave trying to cram 18 years of woulda/shoulda/coulda into two weeks, sliding into the morning of move-in an emotionally exhausted, financially drained mess of emotion and biological instincts. It isn’t pretty, but it’s real. I have committed to myself that I’m not going to “drown the day in anxiety,” but Chris and I have already declared the truck a safe space on the way home, after we’ve ripped off the proverbial band aid.
- We have 23 days, less than one month, until we close on this house. We listed on July 14th and after a false start with a cash buyer that first week, we sold it the second week to a lovely local couple. The woman is going to keep the cats that came with the house – my biggest concern, if I’m honest. Inspections were done this week and pending no major issues and no issues with the appraisal, we close on August 31st.
- Gen has already begun her purge-and-pack for college. We already had one “divvy day” with our two older girls and their husbands, and we have another one planned on August 14th, with the final purge day on August 28th.
- Chris has turned in his notice. August 15th is his last working day, with outbriefing on August 23rd. I still have a few more months. I’ve gone back and forth on the timing, but my timeline really depends on when the camper will be ready.
- The camper is due off the production line on August 26th. We received our VIN. Following production inspections, the camper then goes into paint (10-12 weeks), before another round of inspections, shipment to Tampa, additional inspections and installations… and THEN we can pick it up. Knowing what we know now, we’re expecting late November/December before it’s ready to be picked up.
BUT, on August 31st, we begin. We have reservations through the end of the year, staying in the NC/SC area so I can be local to our plants. For Chris, the Pilgrimage doesn’t start until we get the new camper and are on our way to Florida for the winter. For me, the Pilgrimage has already begun. All of this prep work to get to this point in time, the initial months in our small camper, the milestones still to come – this is all part of it. It is kind of crazy to think that just 11 months ago, we said this dream out loud. And here we are on the verge of bringing it to life.
Following the close of this house, the next puzzles to be solved include timing the pickup of our new camper, timing the announcement of my leave, finding my new job, and a hundred other tiny details – insurance, internet access, etc. But each day, we’re one step closer, and that keeps me going. Line up the next puzzle!
Jody
