Riding on the coattails of
Christmas and New Years was Brandon's fifth
birthday which we celebrated on January 8. Instead of a houseful of family
friends and countless children, there were only a few of his classmates from
preschool and neighborhood friends. HULK was the theme, and
Brandon wore the costume.
After playing "Stick the Party Hat on Hulk" (a
version of Pin the Tail on the Donkey), the partygoers moved to the garage to take
turns hitting the Hulk pinata.
Last fall I decided that I was ready to move away from the lake. I enjoyed lake living, especially sitting on the deck in the shade and reading a book. But the solitude was vanishing. Pam, a nearby neighbor, announced her plans to move to a condo complex which is nearer Dawn and her family. I visited the models and suddenly I, too, was "gangbusters" to move.
I ran a "For Sale by Owner" ad in the local newspaper in early October, and then realized if the condo didn't sell before the cold and snow set in, there would be little interest from potential buyers until after the holidays. Our winter was a long and hard one. No one wanted to be outside, let alone looking for a place to live.
After the holidays, life returned to normal ... or as normal as it could be when
the lake condo needed to be ready to show to potential buyers on short notice. The
anticipated move had little impact on Sophia and Brandon. Every day when I
picked up Brandon after preschool, he'd ask, "Are we going to your new house today?"
And I'd reply that we had to sell the old one first. |
Finally in early March I had a buyer, one who was anxious to move
within a month. Suddenly I needed to proceed quickly to complete
purchase arrangements of my new unit so that once the sale closed on the
lake condo, I could
move into the new one. The closing on the lake unit was on March 29
and I signed the paperwork on the new unit April 1. Moving day was
April 7.
There were an amazing number of boxes that had to be unpacked.
Dawn ramrodded me to stick with the task of putting things away and within
a week, the condo began to feel like home. By the end of April, the walls were
painted and the pictures hung. The new condo was not just feeling like
home, it was home! I am so happy to be living here. It's
quiet and I have great neighbors. And when Brandon and Sophia are here,
there's plenty of space outdoors - including broad driveways to pedal
their bikes in - to keep them occupied.
 Grandparents' Day in mid-April is an occasion both Brandon and I look
forward to. I think the reason it is popular with him is because he
anticipates the unlimited number of cookies from which he can choose during
the celebration. |
SIGNS OF SPRING
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| Snack time |
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| Playing in the sandbox |
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| Two wheeling |
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| Tow truck driver |
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