I don’t know how many of you have kept count or noticed when I went over 300 posts. Today’s post is 315 which means I only have 51 to go before I meet my goal of making some kind of a post every single day of 2020. Of course, when I set that goal on January 1, 2020, I had no idea all our lives would change so dramatically. I thought I’d be out and about and making lots of interesting posts about wherever I was or whatever I was doing.
Still, this goal led me to
actually begin and finish writing a book. Nothing like the original book I
wrote in the mid ‘90s and revised in the early 2000s, but still, it’s a lot of
words that I somehow spewed out through my fingers and created another
individual who also had a goal and desires and a pandemic-free world in which she could
travel about, meet new people, have new experiences, etc. I’m proud of the fact
I managed to write a chapter a day, sometimes two, and get them posted for you,
the reader’s, enjoyment. Of course, to be perfectly honest here, I absolutely enjoyed the hell out of it as well.
I also have to admit I
could not have accomplished this alone. I have friends who told me stories,
shared their experiences, shared their ideas and supported my efforts even when
I was rather aghast at what I’d written.
In particular, I want to
thank Ernie Rose. I think he was the only male person who read SHE, or at least
he was the only male’s name I saw that liked or commented on a particular day’s
chapter. Not only that, but he initiated almost daily phone calls to critique
and edit SHE. Ernie is a great writer himself and you'd know that if you read his posts on Facebook. Those posts are nonfiction
about his zoo and climbing experiences. More than one person has suggested he compile them into
a book of essays. Anyway, I had a lot of fun talking to Ernie and hearing what
he had to say and then thinking about his suggestions for upcoming chapters. I
believe Ernie could write fiction just as well as he does his nonfiction…maybe a novel entitled HE
would be a good start…what do you think Ernie???...I’d be happy to critique and
edit your chapters for you as you did mine???
Anyway, I’ve begun a new
book and have written the first chapter, but there’s a lot I don’t know about
this particular topic so I need to do a bit of research. I’m hoping I can think
of a title and begin posting sometime this coming week. It would be quite an
accomplishment were I to end 2020 with two completed first draft books under my
fingers.
At least writing kept me
from whining about my life, the pandemic and the election. Finally, regardless
of what trump thinks he can do in court, we’re going to get a new President who
will put the welfare of us all ahead of his interests or the interests of his
rich friends. I sincerely hope that come January 21, 2021; tRump is hauled away
in handcuffs. In fact, were they to haul him away from President Biden’s
swearing-in in handcuffs, I’d perform one hell of a happy dance and shout
HALLEULIA.
As for the pandemic, it’s
only getting worse and about all we can do, those of us who want to survive and
believe the scientists, is wear a face mask, limit close contact, wash our
hands…a lot…and continue to limit our exposure to other folks as best we can.
Hopefully, at some point in 2021, there will be a vaccine for COVID-19; and
also hopefully, the world has learned a valuable and extremely important lesson
from COVID-19, so that when COVID-?? shows up, and science says it will, the
world and its leaders will have learned from this experience and step up immediately
and save us from another year like 2020. We really must live in HOPE.
Then, there’s my life.
Nothing much has changed although I made a lot of progress in eliminating stuff
thanks to the assistance of my boys and granddaughter. John’s bed is completely
clear of stuff so I could have overnight visitors when and if that ever becomes
a viable option. His closet is another story, but I figure over the winter I’ll
take out one box at a time and deal with whatever’s inside.
The garage is also cleaned
out, at least enough for me to park my car in there for the first time in 51.5
years. There’s still stuff that needs to go, but I’m thinking about an estate
sale in the spring and perhaps those last big things can be eliminated then.
I’ve also had a real
estate agent out for a walk through and discussion. I’ve asked my boys for their
opinion with regard to my selling and moving. At this point, the only decision I’ve
made is that I won’t be buying property and building…getting permits alone
could make me a really old woman (and I am one already) before the first nail
was driven.
So, I’m going to lay out
my thoughts here and hopefully some of you may be willing to chime in with your
thoughts, positive or negative.
If I stay in this house:
1. Get bids from a few
foundation repair companies and see if it would be worth it to get the house level
again.
2. Get bids for window
replacements, i.e., two skylights and three other windows have broken seals.
3. Get PSE to come out and do
a free heat evaluation and see what needs to be done, if anything, to make the house
warmer.
4. By staying here, I’m close
to my older son and his family. As his wife pointed out, if I need them, they
are only five miles away and could come at almost any time if I needed them.
That won’t be possible were I to move to Mt. Vernon. Of course, if I moved to
Snohomish, then Thor would be close if I needed help.
5. I say the house is too big
and too difficult for me to keep up. Were I to hire a landscape company to do
the hard work in the spring and the fall, then I could just do the fun stuff.
Right now, I have a company that comes to mow and take care of all the leaves.
And, maybe a cleaning company once a month for inside.
If I decide to sell and move:
1. Sell the house as is
without doing anything about the foundation or the windows. One person I know
who recently did this told me to only accept offers that don’t require an
inspection in case there are other problems about which I know nothing.
2. I would want a smaller
house, no condo or apartment, with a garden.
3. It would need to be fairly
close to one of the boys and their families.
4. It would need to be
affordable.
5. It would need to be in
great condition.
As you can see, I’m torn
about what to do or not do. I’d welcome any and all comments or ideas or
thoughts. Somehow, I always envisioned my “golden years” as being free of any
big decisions or problems. I thought I’d just sail through those years because
I’d planned ahead, I’d prepared, I’d be ready. Well, it certainly doesn’t look
that way from where I’m sitting right now. Or, am I making a mountain out of a
little molehill??? I just don’t know.
Of course, what I should
be is really really thankful rather than fussing about what I should or shouldn’t
do. After all, I am healthy, have an income, have a roof over my head, have
healthy family and friends nearby, have a neighborhood where everyone knows me
and I them, two puppies who love to cuddle on/with me, an obviously healthy
imagination, the drive to get things done (when I really want to), and lots of
other things I cannot bring to mind right now. So, to answer my own question
above…I think/believe what I have is a molehill.