End of an Era

Written Sunday, September 7, 2025

Welcome to my new blog about our retirement travels. This is more for me than anyone else (to document and to remember years down the road - what happened and maybe how I felt about it.) If people read it, that would be welcome and wonderful. But at a minimum, when I am old an decrepit, maybe someone will read it to me and it will spark a memory in my feeble mind.

My husband, Blaise, and I are finally living the dream we’ve had almost since we started dating in 1993.

We are selling the house we built together. We put earnest money on a new home  right after we became engaged in November 1996. We were married in May 1997 and closed on the house July 31 of that same year.  We have essentially lived our entire married life in this house (where I sit writing this). We have shared so much joy in this house but we have also shared much sorrow including grieving for the loss of both our mothers, my sister, our beloved dogs, and cat, all within these walls.  This is where we built our life together and where our love for each has grown in ways I never thought possible.  We’ve hosted so many family holidays and gatherings through the years and it has been our base for Thanksgiving every year since my sister passed way in August 2016.  Thanksgiving for the past 9 years has been our family’s anchor in this house.  A way to honor the memories of our mothers and my sister, Kaylene, and to come together as each of our lives have gone different directions. We have also welcomed friends and family in our home to live during transitional periods of their lives.  It has been our haven.

To say I have had mixed emotions about selling this building (which at it’s core, is really all it is) is an a bit of an understatement. I am sad this part of our lives is coming to an end, yet excited for the new adventures awaiting us. Some days there is more excitement, while other days, sadness wins the battle.

Today is one of our last days in our home before we relinquish control to the people handling our estate sale. And I am sad today as we pack up all of the belongings we are keeping.  If it doesn’t fit in a 5X10 storage unit, it gets sold.  There is a sense of freedom that comes with letting go of all those “things” that anchor us down.  On the other hand, when I packed up all the pictures of all our loved ones a week ago, I felt a loss.  We are those people who surround themselves with framed pictures of all those we love. Pictures of the kids at various stages of childhood, as if they are forever 5 or 15. Pictures of our parents, our siblings, our nieces, and even our beloved pets.  All those who add to our joy and fill our hearts with love.  That paper that reminds us of who we are and who we love, all packed away in plastic bins, heading to a storage facility until we return and make a new home.  I never realized until all the pictures were gone, how comforting it was to look around our house and see our loved ones every day. We are blessed!  And that is not a statement I say often.

BUT! In a little more than two weeks, we get on a cruise ship and head to Southeast Asia for eight months of unknown adventure.  Blaise and I have talked about taking this step in our lives for years.  And it is finally here!  I guess since we are both now retired, this is the “getting old” together part of our lives. And I am ready for it!

If you actually read this and have specific questions, let me know. In the days to come, I will write more about the logistics and where we are going.