Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Hanging on by my toes.....

Well, this job of getting us out of this house and into something smaller is just plain overwhelming.  Everyday I throw out more, put more into boxes and then look around and see more and more that just can't go with us into any of the places we have looked at. Sunday I was just flat freaking out, today I'm a little better.

The Meridian on the Seawall in Galveston looks like the best option so far.  I've had some serious discussions with my son about the possibility of San Antonio and it just doesn't seem like the best choice for now.  He is so stressed struggling with the new job and trying to get his family situated that together we just don't see how he or his wife, Karen, can be of any real support for a year or so.  His family is on spring break in SA right now checking out schools and houses and I'm hoping they find something this week.  Their house in Birmingham goes on the market April 1.  

The Meridian has a nice apt on the 4th floor that is being renovated.  Renovation is going on on the 2nd floor to convert it to assisted living and memory care so if and when Ken needs it, I can just go downstairs.  My daughter and I are going down this morning for her to take a look and to put down a deposit which we can get back if we don't get the house sold by the time renovation of the apt is finished.  The mission now is to get this house on the market and get rid of 2/3 of what is in it...going from 2800 sq ft to 998 sq ft...ouch!  But the good news is Ken's doc is at UTMB, we have attended the UU church there and I have a lot of friends in Galveston.  Whether all this falls into place depends on when we sell the house...a big if, I know, but I'm laying it all on the Universe to provide in all good time.  I have a contractor who is putting together a bid...another is supposed to be...I will have to negotiate a loan to do all the repairs and pray that it will all pay off in the long run.  In the meantime, I feel like I'm trying to stand on quick sand.  And we aren't ruling out SA at some later date but having downsized, that move should be a piece of cake.

Daughter Karen and I cleared out the attic Monday and I am working on the kitchen today trying to get as much of the little junk in boxes for the church garage sale which we can start delivery on Sunday.  I threw away a big stack of art work but there is so much more!  I'm waking up at 4:00 am with thoughts of some other closet or drawer that needs flushing.  The realtor says eliminate all the clutter, pack away anything personal...whew!  The mask collection has to be packed, the flat file is going to a new home and the list goes on and on.  Thank God for my dear, wonderful friend, Susan, who spends one day a week with me helping to sort.  She is coming this week to help pack the art work I want to keep.  The plan is to get rid of the junky stuff via the garage sale, make repairs, paint, stage the house, sell it, move out and then have an estate sale.  Wish us luck and fortitude and hopefully we won't kill each other in the process.

Ken's progress on getting rid of his stuff is going SO slowly.  He sits at the breakfast table and reads every single paper in the pile he is going through and he has thousands of papers that he has printed off the Internet.  While he is sleeping, Karen and I grab a pile of papers from his office, put them in a bag and into her car.  She will take them home and go through them.  The other day our original wedding certificate in a binder from the church showed up.  Sunday it was the original mortgage papers with the survey so we have to go through each pile of Internet printouts to make sure there is nothing else of importance in them.  Talk about crazy-making!  And we haven't even started on the garage!  

I know I can live with a lot less...I lived out of two suitcases in Australia for 6 months but all this stuff was still there to come home to.  This is different and means going through everything and making a decision about it.  At least I have the memories, at least for now, though there are days when I question even that.  
Support group meets tomorrow, thank God.
Okay, that's it for now...I've been up since 4:30, cleaned out one file drawer and read emails.

2 comments:

  1. So you're downsizing to my size. Basically you can bring some books, some art some kitchen stuff and your clothes along with a computer and a TV!. The rest of it has to go............I speak from experience! I'm so GLAD Karen is taking a bag or two at a time because at Ken's pace you'll still be there 10 years from now!
    I didn't make repairs on the house on Carriage lane or the house on Westheimer until the inspections by the prospective buyer. Then all that was taken care of. REMEMBER, the Trust House sold in 3 days! I think you're going to be amazed how fast your house is going to sell. GOOD luck my dear. So glad you have help.

    Just remember, when you only have 1000 sq. ft, its so EASY to clean! ha.....

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  2. yeah - that's seriously stressful. But I feel like this has been a continuous theme in my families lives for the past several years - Mark's parents house has been slowly downsizing for Years, my grandparents house for the past few years, and recently Mark's grandma's house. It's hard when you have accumulated all that stuff that is related to a story and a feeling or sentiment. Oh my goodness. Sounds like you have some very helpful people around to lend a hand. Thank goodness. I second Babs comment that when you have a small place, it's easy to clean. It's such a relief, really, to have a smaller more manageable space. Less places to hide stuff from yourself. :-)

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