Anyone who knows me understands how I feel about Christmas.  It is my FAVORITE time of the year.  It took a full day just to decorate the inside.  The tree took the longest as I would put each ornament in just the right spot.  I took great pride in having the tree look beautiful and knew the story behind each ornament.  Living in Florida, more energy was spent in trying to make it a winter wonderland.  It was accomplished in the years where it was a little chilly and the fireplace was lit as it crackled and engulfing us in a cozy atmosphere much like a wool blanket.

I enjoyed having family over and making it a special event for everyone.  So many good memories over the years of Christmases hosted at our house.  This Christmas will be a little different.  Mitch didn’t have to go up in the attic numerous times to bring down my barrage of decorations.  Yes, we have a fireplace but no mantel to hang our stockings.  No 9 ft tree to decorate, adore and watch as the lights twinkle.

This year our decorating regime went like this.  One strand of lights around my topiary, a poinsettia, a Christmas lantern and laser Christmas lighting shining on the 5th wheel when dusk is upon us.  I think the entire process may have taken ten minutes in total.  Definitely a different experience from years past.  However, the true meaning of Christmas is not in the tree or the lights but to celebrate the birth of Christ and being surrounded by loved ones.  I am blessed to have many loved ones to celebrate this special holiday.

Last weekend my daughter flew in from Texas to celebrate her birthday.  We went to the Ed Sheeren concert and enjoyed every minute of the music as it reverberated from the mighty speakers.  For the first time in a while, I felt relaxed and joyful.  No deadlines, no packing or unpacking, no uneasiness.

The time spent with our daughter was filled with places to be and things to do.  Only once was the house brought up.  My daughter has never known any other place as home.  She said she never got a chance to say goodbye.  She asked if we could drive by to see it but I declined and told her to take the car if she wanted to go.  I didn’t want to see any changes the new owners may have made.  I wanted to remember our home the way I left it.  Silly, but for me, it’s too soon to be nostalgic.

We still have some boxes not unpacked but eventually, they will.   There is no rush anymore and our lives have started to go back to normal.  Our weekends are starting to be filled with enjoyable activities.   We are adapting to living in our fifth wheel and our new surroundings.  We talk about the day we can begin our adventure of traveling this glorious nation to see all its beauty.  Finally, I am able to breathe.

We are now in our fifth wheel full time and it’s strange to be here.  Normally, we are escaping for a long weekend in our RV to some park but it’s now it’s called home.  Boxes are being unpacked and strategic placement is key.  There is no room for non-essentials in our 430 sq ft home.

I am blessed to have my brother in law and sister allow us to house our boxes in their garage as we continue to figure out if we want to keep, sell or donate.  The shackles of a time constraint have been lifted and the stress has subsided.  There now seems to be light at the end of the tunnel.

The benefits of living in a much smaller space are slowly being seen.  Cleaning time is dramatically reduced.  I actually get to see my husband on a Saturday.  Usually, he is outside mowing, edging, maintaining the pool and trimming the considerable foliage surrounding the house.  Each Monday, we imagine the groans the garbage men must emit as they turn the corner and see five full cans of trimmings.  Another plus, I am actually sleeping better.  With no skylights above the bed, the room is dark and I have been getting more than 5 hours of sleep. Amen.

On the negative side, from one end of the RV to the other takes about 15 steps.  There isn’t an alternative when my husband starts to snore.  The biggest downside for me is there isn’t any room to store my crafts.  I have to keep all of those materials at my sister’s house.  The silver lining to that is now I get to craft with my niece and spend more time with sister and her family.

I haven’t posted in a while but the last couple of weeks have been very stressful, to say the least.  As our closing date was approaching fast we had a few major obstacles to overcome or as my husband choose to say “opportunities”.

The HOA of our neighborhood sent a letter telling us we had to remove a shed that had been approved 19 years ago.  After discussions with lawyers and emails sent back and forth, it was decided a shed technically is a detached building. Since ours was physically attached to the room addition we had built it was decided our “storage room” would be allowed and grandfathered for the future residents of the home.

Mitch and I continue to pack, sort, throw away, and donate.  The two biggest items were the pool table and a custom built wall unit.  In the zero hours, we gave away a beautiful slate pool table and the wall unit that cost $5k was sold along with a 65 inch TV and a complete stereo system for $600.  I have come to the conclusion; I never want to do this again.

The last surprise was four days before the moving company was supposed to come and box up our items for storage, they backed out because they wanted to pursue more lucrative business in the panhandle after Hurricane Michael.  So frantically, we searched for another company to replace them and thankfully one was found.

We were in the house till 9:00 pm the night before closing just throwing stuff in boxes to have the house completely empty for the final walk through the next day.  As we went around the house for one final check of the house which had been our home for 28 years, it was stark, empty and produced a loud echo as if no one had ever lived there.

Even though it was an unwelcomed echo, I stood in the middle of my home thanking this house for the beautiful memories created within its walls.