So, in previous blogs I talked about the plan to sell our large, two-storey home and downsize to a single storey home. Well, Auction day came and in the morning our beautiful home went under the hammer. Long story short, we sold our home to a lovely couple – the wife being a nurse from work who fell in love with our house. We’re both pleased that our home is going to a family who will love it. Then in the afternoon we bid on another house and luckily we were successful. But boy, was it Uber stressful! Maybe it’s Parkies messing with me, but I can’t recall being that stressed for a long time. The estate agents – two exciteable young ladies – came bounding up to us when we sold the house saying ‘Are you pleased?’ in a perky fashion. They were met by a less than enraptured response from me, ‘I won’t be happy till I know we’ve bought our new home!’ Once we were successful, a huge weight lifted off my shoulders and the stress started to melt away. The new owner and I embraced and shared happy tears and our journeys to our new lives began.
Now the reality of the practicalities are sinking in. Like a mathematical equation, five bedroom house into four bedroom house doesn’t quite go. Less wall space, one less bedroom and smaller bedrooms – in fact every room is smaller – means life is full of decisions on what to keep and what to sell or give away. The accumulated ‘stuff’ of 10 years in this house is now needing to be sorted. Someone gave me a good tip. I ask myself ‘Am I emotionally connected to this object?’ It certainly helps. Pictures painted by my late mother – emotional connection? Tick! Lots of other ‘stuff’ I’m finding I am less bothered by than I thought I would be. This process certainly focusses you on what is important in life.
So, getting rid of ‘stuff’ is my focus at the moment and it is just unimportant accumulated stuff that is going in the main. The new home offers opportunities to put our stamp on it in many ways and I am choosing to focus on the adventure of a new home to live and love in. After all, it is not the building we inhabit or the ‘stuff’ inside it that matters, it’s the love shared within those walls that truly make what will begin as just another house into a home.
My journey with Parkinsons 