They often say that home is
where the heart is. When you move more often than you care to, do you begin to
lose heart? Or, more to the point, is there a level of restlessness that
develops so that home is less important than where you happen to be, such that
it is with whom you are that takes on greater preeminence. For Margo and me,
having just celebrated our silver wedding anniversary (against many odds, mind
you, that is what Margo keeps reminding me of), setting up a new home has been
a steady constant in our joint lives. Margo bears the bulk of the burden and if
I had a good voice I would be singing her praises more loudly.
Moving to Boulder in the
mid-1990s to a front range bungalow, then to a condo by Boulder Creek before
settling into our Niwot new construction we embarked on in 2000, somewhat
foolishly, as it turned out. But even with the Niwot home, just a few years
later we were challenged by the need to be based in Omaha and we managed to do
so for a year – the commute was OK, but Omaha is not Boulder or even Denver,
despite the play calling by a certain Payton Manning. That year of commuting
may have been short-lived as very soon we left the company.
After leaving our Omaha gig,
Margo went to Simi Valley in Southern California while I gained employment in
San Francisco, Northern California. Fortunately, and long before the global
pandemic influenced such employment decisions, I was able to work remotely
which narrowed the home options considerably as Margo and I settled in the
regular Colorado to Southern California commute. Our home remained our house in
Niwot and if you ever wondered about the many cars we bought, it was all pretty
simple. A car each in Niwot, a car each in Simi Valley, an SUV to commute
between locations and yes, a dedicated track car for weekend outings that
contributed to maintaining our mental wellbeing. All quite sensible really as
we look back on that ten-year span.
Fast forward to today and it
is back to packing and unpacking boxes. Lots of boxes. As we welcomed sunrises
in Colorado it was never our plan to move out of the state. It wasn’t as if the
changing seasons forced us to migrate but rather, unplanned reactions to our
fluctuating circumstances. Those days working in the corporate world, dashing across
western state lines, may have seemed logical at the time. No, we didn’t like
Omaha and in time, San Francisco ceased to thrill. looking back at our
schedules Margo and I still wonder how we made it through it all without there
being irrecoverable rifts developing in our relationship. But as we both came
to realize there were many compromises along the way.
We just completed the purchase of a condo in Longmont and once again, we are taking up residence in Boulder County. With this purchase, we view our new place of abode as if it was a fancy hotel room. Our plans are to drop in for a few weeks during spring and the late fall and spend time with family. We have plans to add a second location and for those who have been following us for some time and have read the most recent posts to this blog, it should not come as a surprise to know we are leaning towards taking up residence in Florida. Near the water and far from the snow. But for now, it’s back to the boxes as there seems to be no end to our unpacking chores.
Consider it our response to
having finished our home in Windsor a few short years ago and not really
addressing the rationalization of our goods and chattels. As we moved into our
newly constructed home in Windsor it was all pretty much a blur. We still had
belongings and furniture brought back from California and we were in possession
of a considerable amount of duplication even triplication, as we also used to
own an motor coach. How many waffle irons does one family need? As for fondue
sets surely one is enough? And then of course is our situation with stemware
that we never really gained a handle on – 300 plus glasses? Surely not and then
you come to realize you may have even more than that!
Coming from Niwot to Windsor
what we wanted to retain was separation from our daily routines and times spent
together, relaxing. In Niwot we had the pool table, the home theater and a
wonderful wine cellar and bar. We even had a sports bar that featured four TVs
so we could watch all the NFL football games (did you know that the ads were
closely synchronized so you could watch them on all four TVs)! When it came to
Windsor, we replicated the separation but downsized it out of necessity.
Overall, though, we managed to maintain the atmosphere we so liked and that
really has helped of late with the insanity that has overtaken us. We wanted to
be able to have our home as a sanctuary and we made it happen. Living on
Sanctuary Drive was no accident.
Packing up this room brought
with it more than a few tears. We spent five years assembling the elements and
decorating as we would a local hangout, but then it came time to simply pack it
all away. Our Longmont home will be home to just one high top table and four
chairs, depicted above, while the couches have now become the center piece of
our living room. Sighhhh! But what can you do? The catalyst for all of this has
been the changing situation with Margo following her second bout with COVID.
Bottom line, she cannot live without an oxygen compressor at higher altitude –
so yes, bring on Florida and a sea level experience where she no longer
requires tethering. Don’t be fooled. The song I may be singing is not a lament
but rather a poorly delivered chorus about the many changes we have endured.
The creation of our indoor
sanctuary was completed a year after we took up occupancy of our Windsor home
but what took a little longer was extending it out into the backyard.
Landscaping, the building of retaining walls and drainage, and the acquisition
of a weather resistant outdoor bar and high-top table proved to be beneficial.
It gave us a new place to hangout and from spring to fall, you could find us
outside looking out across the golf course. During our travels in and around
Australia, we often gravitated to the southeastern corner of Queensland. One of
our familiar hideouts was none other than Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club –
coincidence? I think not; as the laid-back Queensland lifestyle is what we are
now looking to emulate in Florida and for those who know the Queensland location
I referenced, there are waterways meandering through the various home and condo
complexes that support a very similar to Florida’s boating lifestyle.
Thinking more about the
journey that has brought us to where we are today has us, yet again, unpacking
more boxes and looking at each other noting, as we are doing more often of
late, how did we accumulate all this stuff? Some of it is sentimental, some of
it purposeful (at some point) and some that is just plain pretty. However, the
time has come to think long and hard about what we keep given that the plans we
have to move to Florida may no longer include any need to carry with us our
winter-oriented furniture.
To better help us through this highly emotional process we leased a climate-controlled warehouse / garage. It’s hard to call it just a garage or even a storage room as it is huge. For those with an imperial bent, think 50’ x 20’ x 20’ (in places) – a 1,000 square feet with high ceilings. Perhaps a sad commentary on our times considering the extent to which we have to go to accommodate former lifestyles that perhaps we are reluctant to let go. What Margo and I are experiencing is a latent emotional link to artifacts that connect us to the past and a time when little thought was given to how best to move forward. We just happened to like where we had arrived in life!
When we look at our storage
needs what stood out was the need for additional car parking spaces. Modern
condos / townhomes simply do not come with three or four car garages. Margo and
I have often said that our ideal home would be a 2 bedroom, 2 ½ bath, and 6 car
garage. Oh well; another wrinkle in our planning for the future. It might not
be quite the case of us both treating our cars as if they were an extension of
our family, along the lines of having additional children to consider but
somewhere in this consideration lies an element of truth. Yes, we name our cars
and this time around, they are named after characters in Golden Girls. So much
for life imitating art!
What also stands out as we continue to shuffle through our belongings and move boxes around as we play a kind of hide-and-seek with much that we uncover is how it hasn’t been the consolidation of just the two homes we maintained for those years living in Colorado and California but the contribution to our goods and chattels that came with the ownership of a motor coach. As a home on wheels, it replicated much of what we had in our homes and as such, meant having to pack and move even more stuff than we ever planned in doing. We enjoyed the gypsy lifestyle for a decade and what we collected is now facing an uncertain future as offerings to Goodwill loom large and, despite all of our efforts, there is still way too much left that needs to be donated.
All things considered we can
point to the many minor victories we have enjoyed as we successfully navigated
our downward trajectory from 13,000 sq feet to 4,700 sq feet (plus the 40 foot
motor coach) to just 1500 sq feet spread over three levels. Fortunately, we are
not done yet as we still have that Florida residence to sort out in the near
future. As the driver of the recent changes, the move to the coast and to
Florida specifically, we should come out of this chapter to turn the page on
the next chapter with our sanity firmly intact. It’s easy to write about the
moves and migrations as though they are just milestones to look back on but it’s
hard to ignore the pain and anguish involved. And the minor disagreements.
Not to be taken lightly are
all the forms, papers and web site updates that are involved in a move nor
should we let ourselves be fooled when it comes time to change the location of
our future primary residence. Margo made that decisive move out of Poland to
the US back when it felt like escaping from behind the iron curtain but, as for
me, I have moved seven times internationally. In doing so, I have paid a high price
in that I continue to be restless, uncertain about where I need to be. On some
occasions I have been happy to have just a single packed suite case (which is
all Margo had when she came to the US), a testament to just how much value can
be placed on our belongings. Then again, reality steps in to remind us that as
we move from one chapter to another, it’s not that easy to caste aside
memories.
We will continue to travel.
As we contemplate the next couple of months, we know we will be back to Europe
shortly before extensive travel across the US. When July arrives, we will be
able to focus on Florida move but not until then do we have time to give it any
serious consideration. Returning from a successful business trip to Sydney only
helped remind us that travel has featured strongly in our lives and will likely
continue to do so. In our formative years, Margo and I had no idea that we
would become as travel focused as we have become and I know with certainty that
in the coming year, our collective desire to be out there, on the road, will likely
diminish considerably.
However, as we settle in to
our new home in Longmont, it is time to reacquaint ourselves with all that
Boulder County provides. After the seven years we have lived in Laramie County,
we now notice much has changed in our old haunt. Restaurants have come and
gone, supermarkets refurbished and yes, we even have a local CostCo. The roads
up and through the mountains remain and with spring already on us, there will
be many road trips taken in the near future. Did I mention that we like cars,
but not to have them living in garages but to be driven as often as we can!
Margo and I often repeat the refrain, we “hear the highway calling” and it’s
true and yes, always manages to put a smile on our face.
But the unquestionable
reality for both of us is that with the new year, changes couldn’t have been
more dramatic. There are only a couple of events in our lifetime that creates
stress and tests our resolve and moving house is among the biggest contributors.
We know there will likely be one more move but for the time being, making
adjustments and sorting through what is now meaningful in our lives will take a
couple of months to resolve. The future too is likely to see even more changes ahead and have us multitasking as we combine business with travel with cross-country commuting. In the meantime, as we watch sunsets and look
forward to what comes next, I am always reminded of a few lines from the theme
song for the television series, Vikings that pretty much sums up where we are
today and, in so doing, for Margo and me it brings with it encouragement about
our future together:
If I
had a voice, I would sing
After the night when I wake up
I’ll see what tomorrow brings
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