Why are we moving? We live in a beautiful home. Our home is one that we are so proud of. We feel as though we are living in luxury. Here are a few photos to show what I mean. These pics were taken by a professional photographer to put on the real estate listing.

Nice, right? So why move?

Well, I see retirement in the future. It’s still a few years away, but those years will disappear quickly. The retirement fund will be really small, so we’ll mostly have to rely on social security, and that won’t go far. So it’s time to downsize. Save more money between now and retirement, add to that retirement fund, and then also have much lower bills when the time comes to live on a fixed income.

As it happens, things have to go at warp speed when you decide to move. If you find a place you like that you want to buy, then you have to jump on it before someone else gets it. But if the purchase is contingent on selling your home first, then you have to quickly get the current home ready to sell.

That’s how it went for us.

Two and a half weeks ago, we found the place we wanted to buy. I’ll tell you more about it later. But our house was still very much lived in, with nothing having begun to prepare it for sale. The seller of the home we wanted needed proof that we really were going to sell the house before accepting our offer, so we had 3 days to pack, strip it down to the bare minimum so it would show nicely, and clean and repair various things such as wall scrapes and nicks, loose cabinet doors, etc.

Just as a reminder, I’m 63 years old with a bad back and various other ailments, while Gail is no spring chicken either and is disabled and in a wheelchair. Not the two most physically capable people on the planet.

But with some help, we were ready for the professional photographer to come take photos and put the house on the market. Mind you, lots more still needed to be done, but it was “good enough” for the listing. In the next two weeks, a ton more work has gone into this project.

Let me first give a shoutout and massive thanks to a new friend who put a lot of sweat and effort into helping us. Jenny, there are not enough words to thank you properly. Without Jenny’s help, we would not have gotten nearly as much done. Thanks to Jess and Sandie for helping us pack a little too.

But even with that help, we’ve had to work so very hard. I struggled through the pain and just kept going, no matter what. One night, I was in so much pain, I couldn’t walk, and I couldn’t even lift my legs to get into the bed. Gail had to lift my legs for me.

I’m exhausted. Beyond exhausted. But there is STILL so much to do.

I’ve been putting boxes and small furniture in Gail’s handicap van, and transporting it to the storage unit I rented. Sometimes I’ve had a little help. (Thanks, Joshua!). Other times, it’s just been me.

I’m moving everything to storage first because I know there won’t be any way for us to move everything from the current home to the new home in one day, once we close. But the house will need to be empty and ready for the new owners to move in. So we’ll essentially be moving twice – or really, many times. I try to bring a load over to the storage unit either every day or every other day. Once we sell, we’ll rent a big truck to hopefully be able to get a large portion of it to the new home in one trip, but most likely, it will still take a few trips to make it happen.

• So much packing.
• So much cleaning. (Again, thanks Jenny for your cleaning magic).
• So much lifting.
• So much moving.

I’m exhausted, y’all. Many days, I want to cry. But honestly, there’s no time for that. You’d think I’d be so worn out that I’d sleep great at night, but that’s not happening. I’m getting very little sleep, and of course, I do have a job. So I have to work and try to be as productive as possible. Then, once the work day is over, it’s time to do more physical work.

Now and then, I wonder if this will ever end. But it’s not all terrible. I still have that bit of excitement at finally being in our new home. Again, we are massively downsizing, and the home is not nearly as gorgeous as this one. But it’s got some nice things that I love about it.

I’ll still have a really lovely kitchen.

And I’m really looking forward to having some nice land with some lovely shade trees.

I really think we’ll be happy and peaceful at the new place. I hope I’m right about that because honestly – seriously, no kidding – I truly don’t think I can ever do this again.

Damn, I’m tired.