Today’s the Day

Well my little icon on my Droid phone that has been keeping a count of the days, now shows a big “0”.

The plan is to close on the house today at 2 pm.  We still have some stuff in the house, but it’s mostly emptied out.  We’ll finish that up this morning.

We were up early yesterday and didn’t stop until about 11 pm last night.  Poor Al is worn out.  Of course the 102 degree temperature yesterday didn’t help one bit!

We had to put the pressure on to sell the washer/dryer and small mower, but I dropped the prices and emailed a few people that had previously responded to my Craig's List ad, and we got them all sold.  The only thing left is the big mower, and the buyer  is supposed to pick it up today after closing.  If he doesn’t, we’re screwed!

We have 48 hours after closing to vacate the garage and the rv spot.  The garage is unattached and up on the hill by the rv spot, a long way from the house.  We figured we would need some time after closing to have the mower and golf cart picked up, and to prepare the motor home for travel.  It’s going to be strange being here when we  no longer own the place.   We plan to leave here Saturday, but we still haven’t decided where we will be going.

We are struggling with this oppressive heat.  Everything you do takes more out of  you when it’s this hot.  I’ll be glad when we can head south to Florida where it’s cooler!

I’m up early again for some quiet time before we have to start our day.   I have been reflecting on how we got where we are now and the big changes that have occurred during our lives together.  I was remembering the first time I met Al.  It was on the island of Guam when I was just 15 years old.  Who would have thought we’d be where we are today, preparing to make yet another huge change in our lives?

I remembered leaving Nebraska and our families a few months after we got married.  We studied  a map to pick out where we wanted to move, and with a leap of faith, headed to Tampa, Florida.  We’d never been to Florida, but it sounded nice!  I remember picking Tampa out because it was warm  and near the water.  Neither of had ever been to Florida so we had no clue what to expect.

After 30 years living in Florida, I remember taking that fateful drive and ending up in Cairo, Georgia.  I remember the first time we saw this beautiful piece of property and instantly falling in love with it.  I remember how very hard we worked to get all of our “stuff” up here and to get our Tampa house sold.  I remember how much we loved this land and how much we enjoyed living here.  We kept our full timing rv dream in the back of our mind, but didn’t know how we could ever leave this place that we both loved so much.  I remember starting to miss Florida and the beautiful oceans and rivers.  I remember the rv dream starting to be rekindled in both of us and I remember us coming to the conclusion that it was time to start over once again. That rv dream was back in the forefront.  Fortunately with every major change we’ve had in our lives, we have both wanted the same things, at the same time.  We just seem to grow together in our wants.  We’re very lucky in that respect. 

I think we will both be a little sad to leave this place, but we are ready to get on with the next phase in our lives. 

Today is going to be a very busy day.

Here is another picture of the “prize.”

Final Steps

With our closing date scheduled and things moving along, we have quite a lot to do in the next few days.

We were tired when we went to bed last night, but I awoke at my usual 4 am,  and my mind started racing.  Normally, I watch tv for a few minutes and then go back to sleep.  This morning, I decided to get up and get started. 

The first thing I did was submit a change of address to the Post office.  They have a nice website and you can do everything online.  The only thing I questioned was why they charged me $1.00.  They said it is to verify that you are who you say you are.  I did a little research and found that is indeed their procedure, so I submitted my credit card info.  In fact, I had to pay twice because of Al’s business.

I will need to change our rv insurance, and cancel our homeowners insurance, but I think I will wait until after closing just to be sure.

We have 48 hours after closing to leave the rv spot and  vacate the garage.  We wanted to have time to get rid of the mower and golf cart once we closed, and I’m sure glad we did that.   We want to wash the motor home and cars also before we go.  It’s been so hot and dry here that everything is covered in red Georgia dust.  The motor home is parked on the edge of the property near a dirt road.   Every time a car drives up the road, we get a new layer of dust.  We also need to change the black and grey tank valves, and clean the air conditioner on the roof.  We need that thing clean and running good in this heat.  After we close on the house, we should have a little time for all of these last minute things.

I went on my last ride on my zero turn mower.  With the dry hot days, the grass hasn’t been growing much, but still there were a few spots I wanted to neaten up.  I was half way afraid to mow for fear the mower would break down.  Not that we’ve had any problems with it, but this would not be a good time for any last minute problems.  I sure did love to ride that mower!  Al ended up having to mow the banks around the pond again…and he sure doesn’t love that job! 

I am so glad we never moved out of the motor home after our winter trip to Florida.  It is one less thing we have to deal with right now.  It’s a bit disorganized right now, but basically we’re ready to go. 

It’s going to be a busy few days……..

and another picture of  “the prize”

We still don’t know where we’re going first, but you can bet some water will be around very soon!