Just a quick update on where we are now. I sent my letter of resignation in yesterday. My last day as the Library Services Manager for the County will be October 1, 2021. I feel happy to be moving forward, but sad to leave behind a great group of really caring people who give so much of themselves to make the world a better place. I am proud of the work we did and will leave on a positive note knowing they will continue to do good things for the community.
We have sold more stuff! Juan came from Miami and bought the TV. Thanks, Juan! We were both very happy our Craigslist adventure ended well – we have heard horror stories! We have sold practically everything, sent a bunch home, and will donate the rest. My friend, Mary, who posted our things on her Facebook filtered through so much garbage and helped move the dining table, a coffee table, and some shelves. Thanks, Mary! I still have the chairs and the entertainment center to offload. Mary had a buyer for the chairs, but I pushed them back a little considering we still have to live here for the rest of the month and I have already sold the kids’ beds, the dining table and chairs, and now the TV. I mean, really, they are being troopers and that might be the last straw before rebellion.
Here is the plan for after the 1st of October. We fly to Portland from Sarasota at 6am, October 2nd. We drive to Longview where we hope we will be well into our house selling process. The kids and I will go through boxes and boxes of who-knows-what and make some serious decisions about what we will keep for memories and what needs to just go away. We will take the things we want to keep to Omak and store it in my sister’s storage area. We will stay at the house in Longview until it sells. From there, we have some visiting to do before the adventure begins.
If the house selling goes well, we will be done by the middle or end of November. I am holding off making reservations until we have more concrete dates, but have been talking with the owner of an Airbnb to get some information and establish a connection. For those who know me, my first destination will be of absolutely no surprise. We are going to Panama. We will stay for three months. I have to decide where we will be, but I am thinking we will split our time between the mountains and the ocean. We will stay in Santa Fé, Veraguas for the first month. It is a fairly small town in the mountains. If we like it, we will extend our stay. There are lots of hiking trails to amazing waterfalls and river pools. To top it off, they grow coffee here. If we really like it, we might stay there the whole time. That’s the beauty of this new adventure, we can do what we want! After Panama, we were thinking Mexico or Guatemala. I am waiting to see how things progress before deciding. We have Greece on the list now for after we get the hang of all this. So many places to go!
On another note, Matilda, my oldest, who turned 22 Saturday, just got an interview with the South Korean company she wants to teach for. We are so excited and everything I can cross is crossed for her. I am sure she will do well, but this is the big one she has been waiting for forever! Lydia, my middle, just got settled into her new place in Bellingham in anticipation of Fall Quarter at Western Washington University where she is finishing the last year of her bachelor’s in chemistry. She just got called for an interview for a job, too! Axel, my youngest, just started online classes for 7th grade. We are getting used to the new format and we added Duolingo Spanish to get ready for our first stop. I have not made him look for a job, yet, as he is only 12 (for two more weeks).
According to the countdown clock, we fly home in 24 days.
20K and a Year Away 