Moving to another planet at 65

I've moved from Maine to Illinois to Florida to New Jersey and back to Florida in my life time. I was thirty-something the last time. At sixty-five, here are my thoughts about moving...

• A large part of my identity is tied up in this house: steward of the land, hostess with the mostest, chef extraordinaire, hearty parties, welcome wagon, etc., and most recently, artist.
• It's almost like dying, leaving "this life".  Having to say goodbye to people you know you won't see again. Giving away precious possessions you hope will retain some meaning for those who receive them. 
• There are memories encased in the "physical stuff" you have carried since you set up housekeeping after high school graduation.
• Yes, I got a little "homesick" but I was so much less attached to the importance of community. I didn't value friendships the way I do today. We think we have "forever"...
• There were no social media or cell phones for any of my interstate moves so it was much harder to stay in touch. You had to pay by the minute to talk to anyone you knew! Can you imagine?
• How do you make friends and develop community when you drop in unannounced? You can't expect people to know you are coming and welcome you.

This time around...

• I have managed to get blessed with the best partner possible to go with me on this new leg of life.
• The artist in me is going to help me transition to other spaces. I have been known to make jewelry on other road trips.  My jewelry also opens doors with people who admire what I wear.
• Friends are excited and authentically happy for us, telling us that we are brave. No one has dared to tell us that we must be crazy! They are just smiling and wishing us the best.  Some are secretly wishing they could come with us...
• 
  We are literally free to go, mobile, root-less, and unencumbered, for the most part.
• Social media and cell phones exist. Amen!
• We have some old and new friends out West that we can visit when we feel an urge to nest with our past and relax in shared history 
• We have new friends we have never met who waiting for us to visit them north of our initial stop.  Thank you, Facebook.
• It's going to be a fulfilling adventure!