Moving On

I am at a Starbucks in Calhoun, Georgia.
I am houseless, but not homeless.
I have a check in my car to deposit.
I found a branch of my bank in Dalton, and I will soon get on the road.
I don't yet feel the sense of relief and closure I'd hoped I would feel when I left Jasper. Mostly I feel kind of blank and tired.
I could not have done this without the help of daughter Simone and friend Jo (aka Trixie)--or the vacuum lent me by Claudia and Sandy.

Here is a list of stuff that the moving van did not take:
Blender
Sponge mop
3 flashlights
suitcase in the corner of a closet in which I put:
Anna's 3 Billy Goats Gruff vase that she made when she was 8 years old
HEPA vacuum cleaner bags
2 saucers for espresso cups my mom bought the kids when she was in France
1 Ginsu-type knife that belonged to my dad
1 Apple Mouse child's plate
1 quart of North Dakota honey from the hives on Wayne's family's farm
some mail that should have been forwarded
a sheepskin duster on a long handle

The "flotsam and jetsam" at the end is what always wears me out when I move. We have had many corporate moves in our day, which are great in the sense that you just sit there and watch the packers pack until they say, "We need to put that chair on the truck now, Ma'am." You can move really quickly with a corporate move. But any disorganization that was in your life before you moved is there, waiting on the other end when movers unpack all those boxes, or stack them in the garage or basement.

This time, I had the leisure, for once, to sort, give away, throw out, file, organize as I moved. In a decade we've downsized from 5 kids at home in a 4000+ square foot house, via our house in Jasper, to 1 adult child at home with us in a 1000 square foot apartment. It feels really good. The one thing I could somehow not manage to downsize much was my library. I only managed to take about 4 boxes over to the Thrift Store in Jasper. There is a whole wall of books from home and office in our storage unit in Orlando.

I am grateful to God for the privilege of journeying with the people of Holy Family and the residents of Pickens County for a time. Now it is time to move on. I admit to envying people who have been able to put down permanent roots in one locality. It has not happened in my life. I am still confused when someone asks me where home is.

I am on a (very literal) journey to Ohio, Kansas, Denver, and San Antonio before I return to Orlando. It is wonderful to discover that our friendships seem to be standing the test of time and distance.