If you are reading this, know that I am on the road between here and there (or there and where I will be), and I will be disconnected for a few days. That’s because my husband, son, and I will be caravan-ning our way across the country to what I hope will be my forever home.
This is the new chapter of a new story (or maybe a new chapter of a continuing story, who knows?), in a place and time where life will be somewhat carefree and full of time for editing.
Or it may be more of the same, of scraping the edges for bits of time for my art, or waking up in the middle of the night (as I did last night) and fretting about what was left unaccomplished. Let’s face it folks, I’m not getting any younger, and time is limited.
So I’m sitting here in my nearly empty, almost echoing house waiting for the last donation place to come by and scoop up the remains of my leftover life. Try as I may, it was difficult to shed my possessions, and I’m not sure I was all that successful. Earlier this week, we said goodbye to a 16′ container crammed with stuff we haven’t used in months (hint: maybe that stuff we could have lived without).
I bought so many UHaul boxes, I was featured on the UHaul Instagram account. I feel personally connected to the nice young man who collected my money for what I’m sure is hundreds of pounds of cardboard and bubble wrap. He must be laughing all the way to the bank.
Wednesday morning, the piano movers came and took the Steinway baby grand. (I highly recommend Modern Piano Movers. They moved my son’s upright from Michigan to San Francisco – professional all the way. It’s all they do, move pianos.) It will be a few weeks before I hear my husband stumbling over Chopin.
I packed up the rest of my wire and jewels the next day and put the (massive) stack of bins near the back door. Next came the paints and canvases and brushes. I pulled out a few markers and pencils for my backpack and put the rest away. My hands feel weirdly empty and uneasy.
We get another rental truck Saturday and will load up what remains, and will close on the sale of the house Monday. Then it’s off to the open road right after. We’re heading west.
I haven’t gotten much editing done in these last few months. I’ve been busy not only packing, but selling stuff, throwing away stuff, donating stuff, and giving away stuff. But my mind is always plotting away. I have notebooks and my Hobonichi to keep track of new ideas. As soon as we get the office set up in the new house, I can begin the process of putting it all together.
Yay! Just in time for NaNoWriMo! 🙂
There’s something bittersweet about closing the old chapter. There were ups and downs back there, mostly ups. I’ll miss the friends I’ve made here, my daughter (as problematic as she is), and my granddog babies. I’ve spent 14 years loving this house – after all, this house was the catalyst for writing Finding Cadence. It features prominently in the story. (I recently picked up a copy and read a few pages. Even though I believe this to be my best work so far, I can see how far I’ve come in story telling.)
But there’s something exciting about beginning a new chapter too. I’m a pantser writer, and I start each chapter without very little plan, allowing my characters to take me away. Sometimes the landscapes are mundane and boring, but sometimes I find myself coming to places I’d never thought I’d wander into.
Here’s hoping my new chapter in life leads me to the unexpected and the exciting.
