Thank You and Goodbye

Thank You and Goodbye
Barely standing and completely exhausted, stretched to my limitations and critically sleep deprived I write you my first journal.
Hello everyone. We have finally left home. After planning for a year, it felt like the time would never come, yet in the last few hours, it seemed there were not enough minutes to make it happen. We send an extra THANK YOU to everyone who came through for us, the last few crunch days/hours when we needed it most. Thanks for the packing, cleaning, sorting, and moving three thousand, six hundred feet of stuff from inside the house and acre property.
As thousands of feet of beloved possessions were sold, given or packed away, the realization of what we have gained in the ‘letting go’ process became evident. We are assured that we have such valuable support group surrounding us during this emotional break from society. Each of you, left with us, a piece of yourselves that we will draw strength and support from when we need it most. You are all incredibly valuable to us in so many ways.
Already I’ve forgotten the things stored in boxes, as they are the things that shackle my life and keep me from growing. What I do remember, is the source of strength that your support gives me to do this.

Leaving Home
Portland, “Our Home Town,” place of birth and growth, our neighborhood where we raised three wonderful children & pets, built our home, ran the family business, threw big parties, and shared the lives of our friends and family within this wonderful progressive city … all disappeared in just a few moments.
Like a set of binoculars turned in reverse as we flew away, the beloved world of our things became smaller and smaller until they were unrecognizable and then gone. I let go of the attachment to physical things and keep in my heart each of you and the memories we shared together.
The other end of the binoculars now look inside these eyes. The things I focused on before are now small and I must search inside for my new purpose. If you had asked, why I’m leaving everything I have loved and worked for, I would have given you a different answer every month.
Did I cry? Only, every week of planning for a year; every time I packed away photos and keepsakes, woke up in an emptying house, as we closed the business, gave away the dog, said good bye to our children and loved ones, and then a couple hours before our flight, sat on the porch at 3am in the middle of a winter storm weeping and wondering again, why I am doing this?
The answer to this question we’ll find out in time. Just when I think I’m content , life shows me a new opportunity for challenge. Maybe the difference is, looking at a challenge and recognizing the need for ‘change’ as a need for ‘growth.’
I’m not having a mid-life crisis, I am having a mid-life growth spurt.










White Sands Monument-New Mexico