We had the Universe’s attention. Once our belongings began to melt away during The Big Purge, we moved into the next phase of our journey. It became clear that it was time to put our house on the market. Because of its location, we sensed that it would sell quickly. You see, our ¾ acre homestead was bordered on two sides by a century old cemetery the owner of whom had approached us several times over the 25 years we lived there.
All we had to do was call my very good friend, who happened to be a realtor, to extend an offer. While we were attending a pre-planned trip to the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show in January 2019, we received a response to the proposal. In fact, due to our delay in responding for several days, the offer got upped! Just as fortuitous, we were able to negotiate staying in the house rent free until May. It all felt like a dream. What we never knew at the time was that we would eventually end up living the rest of our lives in Tucson. But that's a whole other story for later.
When we returned from the Show we ramped up for leaving Florida in May. We downsized our transportation and became a one-car family, purchasing a used Ford Flex with seating for seven all of which was easy to collapse and make room for our precious cargo. In stages, we began packing the moving boxes that Nathan, an experienced “tucker”, altered to fit and stack within the car. Of course, my load of beads got special placement as I planned to bead cross country! For the next few months, the boxes took over the center of the house as we calculated and recalculated the available space.
We continued to downsize our belongings as we realized they just wouldn’t fit. Most notable among them were treasured artwork pieces by Nathan and my folding clothes rack that had belonged to my mother. Ouch.
During this time, I created an itinerary for an eleven-day journey to Utah with 7 stops along the way. I planned one last monthly coffee with “the girls” at our home and we had a little ceremony in the backyard. I researched and rented a VRBO in St. George, Utah, for four months, not knowing where we intended to live in the area. We began to say goodbye to the home where we had lived together over twenty years. We built more fires in the backyard pit, savoring the Southeast’s earthy lushness we were leaving behind for the arid, mountainous Southwest.
It is truly the oddest feeling- surreal, for sure - to literally walk out of a house you know you will never see again. A vessel that held love, transcendent healing, and a once-in-a-lifetime community of purpose. Your feet will no longer feel the hardwood floors installed in 1948. The house parties with upwards of fifty guests, the gourmet holiday meals with friends and family are over and done. It is finished. You are free.
In certain ways I will always be tied to the sacred space we left behind and what I experienced there. I call this my “Ode to Chez Levy”.
Watch for next month's post where we set off for Utah!
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