Thursday, May 8, 2008

Realtors, farewells, and an answer to prayer

The realtors (mother and son team) were here yesterday. They went through the house here in Kansas, and made a few suggestions, said we have done a great job getting the house ready to sell, and we discussed price. We were pleased with the asking price we all agreed on … and they think we can sell fairly quickly. The house will go on the market on May 16, the day we leave here.

The goodbyes continue. The group from my dog rescue work took me out to dinner on Monday night. We went to the Cheesecake Factory and just felt so strange to know it was the last time. There were some gifts, some cards and more tears than I wanted to have to handle. The tears were theirs, not mine. I was wondering why I am so detached from the emotions of this ... Protecting myself perhaps?

Last weekend was dinner at my son and daughter in law’s house across the border in Missouri. So many things now are "last time" events before we leave. Yesterday several of the ladies from my water aerobics class took me to lunch before class. More goodbyes...

The work continues on the house, and we are (I hope!) in the home stretch now. Most of the renovation is winding down, the house looks pretty good, and things are a little behind schedule, but we are getting there.

*****

Mostly … this has been a grueling week for us; we have been working on the upcoming move for about 16 hours a day and by the end of every day we are beyond exhaustion. At some point yesterday I realized we had nothing for supper, and I breathed a tired sigh and said, “Oh God, what am I going to do about supper?” Not five minutes later the phone rang and it was my friend Ginny from Curves. “I have dinner to bring over to you.” She was at my house about 20 minutes later with two big homemade chicken pot pies, a huge tossed salad, two loaves of homemade bread ... and a package of Oreos because she ran out of time to make dessert. She also brought disposable plates, napkins, dressing for the salad and Promise for the bread. There is enough food to last us for several days! John said it was so much more than he would have ever expected anyone to do for us.

Ginny hugged me and told me how much I have meant to her and how much she is going to miss me. John’s cousin is here from New York helping us out this week, and he said "I didn’t think people still did stuff like this." We had a feast for our supper…..and I had the joy of knowing I have a very special friend and that a prayer was answered.

God willing, we leave here one week from tomorrow. New Mexico beckons.

4 comments:

Buck said...

One week from today!! Cool!

Your good-bye stories are SO poignant, Sharon... and they bring back a lot of bittersweet memories for me. Thanks for that.

Lin said...

My apologies, Sharon, I have been swept up in various distractions of late.

Now it is only four days to go! It is SO close - keep holding on! I also agree that think the emotional distance might be for self-preservation, lest you be driven to abandon the future. I had to do the same thing. You and the truly genuine friends will never lose track of each other so take heart; and the level of parting emotions are no firm indicator of that so I truly believe that you have taken the prudent path in this departure.

Anonymous said...

I found your blog through Clairz. Its a very nice and interesting one. I love your home in NM. Right now, my husband is in talks with a company in Albuquerque and if all goes well, we will be your neighbors no later than the end of June.
This will be a huge step for us...moving sight unseen across the country, but a move we feel very positive about.
Good Luck on your moving trip, and I look forward to reading more.

Alison
in Maine

Lin said...

Ohhh, aren't you here Y-E-T? Can't wait for your first post from NM!