So much has happened since I last checked in that it’s hard to know where to start! The bottom line is that we had a full-price offer on our house in West Lake Hills after two days in MLS. We were able to set the closing for November 30th, so the family came for one last Thanksgiving in that house. It was a lovely day, and it gave our kids the chance to say goodbye to the house and to clean out the last of their stuff.

Selling the house was a cause for sentimental reflection, but not sadness. We had almost 25 wonderful years there, for which we are more grateful than we can express. But that house is made for a family, and two people kind of rattle around in it. Our buyers have young kids, and we wish them the best as this house becomes their home.

Mark and I spent the three weeks before coming here at our little house in Dripping Springs. The packing up, storing Mark’s Mustang, and shipping off our boxes for Spain (see you in three months, shoes!) kept us crazy busy.

A week ago was our last Sunday worship at First Methodist. This church has been an important part of our lives in Austin. We will be back to visit, but to our deep delight our pastors blessed us and wished us Godspeed, and after the service we collected hugs and prayer shawls to serve as remote hugs as we travel on. That all felt great.

Getting back to the mundane, Mark and I were working on getting the house closed up, laundry done, etc., until about 5PM on Friday. Happily for us, our dear friends Vivian and Jimi Ballard invited us to spend the night with them so as to be able to leave housekeeping issues behind for a night. We ate, drank, and made very merry with two of the nicest people ever. And then on Saturday it was off to the airport for us!

So after lots of miles and hauling of super heavy luggage, here we are in New Hampshire. Our darling daughter Mary is with us; apparently babies arrive on Christmas (there’s precedent for that, I hear), so our dear Jane and JJ are in Cleveland for the holiday. It’s my 60th Christmas and my first one with snow and outside of Texas. These two conditions are probably causally associated.

After a lovely service this morning at the local Methodist church, we are hanging out in the condo and doing a whole lot of nothing. Life is good!
Continue reading “Fast forward and then slow down” →

Okay, this is getting real! We leave Texas two weeks from tomorrow.

Getting ready to leave is like being engaged. People are happy for you and want to do nice things for you. In our case, that has meant eating. We’ve been to Home Slice, Kerbey Lane, and several other lovely places. Terry Black’s is in the offing. I may need to pack lots of sweatpants in case my jeans don’t fit by the time we depart!🤪🛫

Thanksgiving Day is the most recent holiday, but right now the relevant time marker is Boxing Day. It’s not that we’re giving anybody but a Goodwill boxes of items; instead, we are boxing up the last of what’s in our soon to be former house. And are we ever tired of boxes!

Many people have asked whether we are sad to go through this process of selling the house where we raised our kids and have lived for almost a quarter of a century. I feel nostalgic sometimes, but honestly mostly it feels good to move on, start a new venture, and let this house once again have the vitality that comes with the presence of children.

Our kids were home over Thanksgiving, and each one told us that selling the house now feels right and fitting on some fundamental level. And we all agree that cleaning out the family home when you’re doing it at the time of your choosing and in order to start a new adventure is as good as this process gets. There’s no divorce, illness, or death here – just the joy of opening a new chapter in all of our lives. So here’s to what was and what will be!

 

 

Thirty-three years and change ago, Mark Morris and I joined a group of friends at Kenneally’s Irish Pub in Houston. We hadn’t been dating long, so we were still learning a lot about each other’s basic characteristics. Mark and I agreed on two issues that night: we both disliked the movie “Arthur,” which was very popular then, and we both would ride in the space shuttle if given the chance. Interestingly, on both issues, we were the only two people at that long, slightly beer-splattered table to hold those opinions.

The night at the pub was one of the times in our short and merry courtship we both remember all these years later. For two pretty practical people (we’re both lawyers, after all), we shared some amazing dreams in those heady, slightly foggy months of dating. Many of them centered around travel and, ultimately, living abroad.

So it turns out that the space shuttle discussion has had legs in our marriage (the “Arthur” thing not so much). Remarkably, Elon Musk hasn’t texted me with an invitation to outer space. However, the seed planted in that conversation at Kenneally’s grew up into a want-to-live-abroad bush. We’re watching the bush bud now.

 

Hi, all! As promised, I’m starting a blog about Mark’s and my adventure of living in Spain. Watch this window!

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton