Probably a lot of things happened in 2018, but I can only remember from about July onward.  That was the day that, like Dudley Moore in the movie ’10’ waking up to the sound of Mexican trumpets blaring outside his window, I had an epiphany.  This plan of buying a pied-à-terre downtown was all wrong.  My head leaped up three feet and much to Donna’s surprise I said:

“I’m ready.  I’m ready to sell this house.”

“Wha?”

“I’m ready to sell the house.”

“Okay, give me a minute.”

We had just been furniture shopping for our eventual property addition of a condo downtown.  I think the prospect of adding more furniture to our list of possessions got me to thinking seriously about what we were signing up for.

My original reason for moving to Tualatin had to do with trying to get into a top school district.  Problem is, my youngest graduated 12 years ago.  I no longer have kids going to school in the district.  That reason no longer holds.

There were other reasons to stay.  Great neighbors.  The house was an excellent place to host functions which we did with some frequency.   Tualatin has great parks.  The downside is it’s a long ways to downtown for work and we have a few years left — at least.

So I won’t bore you with all of the details of the move but here’s the summary.

• Three house transaction.  Donna’s rental, my house + new house
• Of course we found the home we really wanted before either of our houses had sold.  In fact, it took several weeks before my house was presentable enough to even be up for sale.
• Donna’s house closed in September
• Our new home closed in October
• My house closed at the end of November

It worked out almost perfectly, but not without some drama along the way.  Our realtor, normally a cool, calm and collected character once asserted “You guys are risk takers!”   In retrospect, he had a good point.  Regrets?  Nope.  This time the chips fell our way.

In a move this size everyone has a role.  Mine was head sherpa.  Donna’s was head box packer and painter.  By the end of October we were two exhausted souls.   We had some very timely help from my children who always seemed to come lend a hand at the perfect time.  And these were not easy assignments.   Really heavy stuff being packed out of the attic and basement.

For that help we are very, very grateful.  Thank-you kids and grandkids, one and all.

Our new (to us) place is a 1950’s ranch style home but it has a basement.   The previous owners did a great job of keeping the upstairs updated (the master shower is luxurious) but the garage and downstairs, not so much.  We’ve come up with the term “our 25% fixer-upper.”   In addition, it was a downsize move for us.  Not by a lot, but still.  Several truckloads to the Salvation Army.

After we moved in we realized 3 of the 4 doors to the house didn’t work.  However, they had installed an extremely high-tech chicken coop with solar panels in the back that worked perfectly.  Go figure.  Priorities I guess.

The house sits on close to .5 acres and is ideal for someone who is into gardening (hint, not me).  We’ve had our hands full getting some of the new projects going but it’s progressing along and we’re moving forward and not looking back.  Donna loves her new commute.  15 minutes into work.   We’re also two blocks from Lewis and Clark College so we get a lot of hipsters skate-boarding by the house in ski caps.

The place often reminds me of my younger years.  I always had wood stoves back then and this place has one so I find myself grabbing the old axe and making a trip out to the woodpile to fetch some firewood.  The garage remodel alone will keep me busy for 6 months.  At the moment I’m tearing out brown paneling, green carpet, baseboard heaters and having garage doors installed (not one, but two — front and back).

Oh, and we have leaves and fruit trees.  But lots and lots of leaves.

I would be extremely remiss if I didn’t mention the wonderful news that we are about to welcome not one, but TWO new family members in 2019.  In fact, within a week of each other I learned that Emily and Ari are both expecting.  I believe the due-dates are in the May/June timeframe.

This will double the grandchild count and boy are we looking forward to that!  We have a swing set out back and grandpa’s going to have a tractor so come on over and play on the farm.

I am reminded that we were very privileged to host two final gatherings at the Meier Drive house.  The first was a Fritts/Hellier family reunion in July which was so memorable mainly because people who hadn’t seen each other in decades got a chance to connect.  I met all of Donna’s relatives who could make it and some are now my most frequent “like”ers on my non-stop barrage of #resist political posts.  We see eye-to-eye, me and these #NeverTrumpers.  Oh and we had music on display.  There is music in the family bloodline that is for certain.

Finally, we had one last hurrah at Meier drive with my side of the family when we hosted my sister Donna’s retirement party.  Donna got to retire!  We were so happy we wanted to shout it from the mountaintop — and I think she was too.  It was fun to see the smile on her face connecting with old friends and family.  A very special day indeed.

I’m sure I’m missing a ton of stuff but as I mentioned at the start, the rest of the year is a complete blur.

Let the new chapter begin.  Both of us are all-in and ready for it.

B&D