Packing...

In the process of shutting down this house I have determined to sort things into three groups: coming, sell/donate, trash. It seems straightforward enough. The coming pile is the biggest, fair since I've been weeding out for over a year, but still- What a lot of stuff!

The questions I am getting the most often, in response to this blog are: Where are you going and how disabled are you? Neither are easy to answer. So, here are my answers: Where am I going? I don't exactly know. I have been researching more affordable areas to live. In all six of the questionnaires I've completed Oregon comes up in the top five of places that fit my desires as weighted in the survey. I have never been to Oregon, I have been to forty-eight states but not Oregon or Alaska, so I expect to head north first. I already love Seattle, and its outlying areas, so I expect to make that the first leg of my trip.

Certainly I plan to head east to visit my mother and siblings, not to mention 23 nieces and nephews, but the family reunion isn't until July, so I have a couple of months. In the meantime, I expect to take a break from me and the regime of doctor's appointments and staring out the window with my foot up...which wasn't even interesting once. My goal is to find a beautiful view that I can afford to look at, while I'm sitting with my foot up. Does that answer your question? Probably not, but it's my life and I've decided to make it an adventure.

Which brings me to the second question: How disabled am I? Well, I don't want to answer that question for a number of reasons. I want to focus my life on the ability not the dis...second it is too real in black and white, and third, if you've known me for more than a year or two, you know that I prefer humor to a hard truth any day of the week. So just let me say that I can drive for a while, and rest for a while. Any activity is followed by prolonged rest, and if I try to be more specific it just bums me out, so there! In the meantime, I have some packing to do...

Re-creation

Okay, when I thought up this blog, I intended to share the pearls of wisdom that I have gleaned from thoughtful reflection and blinding realizations following life events. No sooner had I set it up when I lost a dear friend and lost all interest and momentum. Now, I am beginning to pick up the pieces of my life as I emerge into a new life that I must create for myself.

It is certainly true that each and every one of us create our own lives, but at this very moment, I am embarking on a transition from the life I created as a teacher to the life I have as a disabled retiree. Certainly, it is attractive to keep on keeping on, in spite of the reduction in income, and for the past year or more, I have done so. It seems to me now, that I can live meagerly in my current style or well in a situation designed on these new parameters. This is my choice. Thus, I have given notice on my house and have begun sorting, packing and relieving myself of former necessities.

It is an interesting to put together a puzzle when you are not really certain what the final image is, and so, I pick up a piece, and try to make it fit. The variations on placement allows me to change my mind at will, though the outcome remains elusive.

For today, I have ten empty boxes to fill and continue my search for affordable living.