It Has All Become Real

I’d already been working non-stop, checking things off my to-do list for the last couple of weeks, when my husband Kenn asked, “Could any of these things have been done before now?” Easy enough question. Several things could have been done earlier, but then the question would then have been, “When?” When I was in the middle of painting the stairway? In the middle of workdays? Or the middle of moving out? I guess I could have cut a few camping days this summer, but I already felt I was at the minimum number of days to stay sane in the middle of my monster to-do list.

Everything got done. Work papers that have been in my in-home office for years have been returned. The patio that will make the home we are leaving just a little bit nicer for our son, the renter, got built. Last meals have been enjoyed with friends. I am now down to just three small piles; one that goes into my backpack and carry-on, another that goes into the last box in the basement (to be opened again when we return), and one that will go into the garbage before leaving. Slippers, I have loved you, but it is time for you to go.

I’ve felt several slow closures this month. Leaving a place of work after 17 years is one of those. Planning that departure and knowing it is coming has not made it easier, just less dramatic. Making the last cool, early morning drive to Fan Lake gave a good closure. I had great job, but it still had its drawbacks, an hour’s drive from home being the main one.

Moving out and downsizing for the second time in a year didn’t make the task any more manageable. I said goodbye to clothes that weren’t worth storing but insisted on keeping tchotchkes that made no sense to Kenn. When I walked away from the furniture and stored boxes last week it finally hit me, we had become nomads.

Becoming digital nomads is something Kenn had talked about for a long time. I nodded along, thinking, “What a nice idea.” We could live in other places and enjoy other parts of the world. What a great concept. That concept became reality this week. This last week, we are staying in mom’s guest room enjoying her company and hospitality because we no longer have a home of our own. It has slowly dawned on me, we are nomads. It has all become real.