We’re now only one storage cubical from being organized in the new apartment. Although a bit crowded in our small two-bedroom, we have somehow made the essentials fit. I’m taking a few days off from moving and organizing to see my grand-kids in Florida. It’s been awhile since I’ve been with them, so I hope they recognize me. I’m taking a suitcase full of goodies, including a lot of Cubs merchandise that I no longer have room to display. In fact, I think it was a Cub’s game in Chicago when we all last got together. Sadly, this will be only the second time in a year and a half of her new life that I’ve seen my youngest, Nora. It’s hard to believe the oldest, Gavyn, will soon be a teenager. My wife is at home, entertaining girlfriends from Indianapolis, but will join me on Christmas Day for the return trip to see them. Maybe I’ll throw her a retirement shindig at the Magic Kingdom?

It will be a Happy New Year in Florida, as we’ll bring in 2020. Once we return from our mission to see the family and scout for a potential home, we’ll be living on a limited retirement fixed income, strapped with her healthcare costs for a few years until she turns 66. I’ll shift from her former company’s insurance to Medicare supplements to add to our expenses. We’ll then do some comparative Left Coast home exploration until our October cruise of Cairo and the Nile River. We’ll be laughing about this horrible move by then, while reluctantly planning the next one.

We sprung for a new 55” TV and sound system yesterday – another cost involved in the move. I figure that packing materials were about $300, parking permits $140, junk removal $600, repairs $1500, tips $600, gas $100, $500 in deposits, and the new TV related equipment $2,000. In total, it cost about $6,000 and countless hours of personal time to complete the difficult transition from home to apartment. In addition, we’ll be paying about $1,000 more per month to live downtown, including parking, pet fees, and storage. However, utilities will be a little less and convenience will be a primary benefit. We’re looking forward to exploring the new neighborhood of alphabetical streets. (See Post #1081).

In the process of downsizing, we’ve given away thousands and thousands of dollars in furniture, clothing, plants, and miscellaneous collectibles, plus a piano, mink coats, and 2 complete bedroom sets. I did manage to get $57 in-store credit for my Sue Grafton book murder/mystery collection, after gradually investing hundreds of dollars and seeking some autographs. I never did get to the end of her alphabet series, since she sadly passed before completing the letter Z. It was fun putting together while it lasted. As a reminder of my 25-year devotion to her writing, I still do have the “M is for Mike” (instead of Malice) personalized copy.

I got up at 4 a.m. this morning to complete consecutive running day #3931 before my 6:45 flight. We now live 15 minutes closer to the airport. Yesterday, I also woke up at four under the stress of the last day of moving and organizing. A final trip to the house then Goodwill, along with a haircut, bottle recycling, packaging store stop, dry cleaning pick-up, book return negotiations, Apple repair center, and bone-in steak dinner at Jake’s Grill capped a hectic day of errands. I’m ready to get a few days break from lugging our stuff around town.

After months of fighting charging issues with my I-phone, I finally got it fixed. I had delayed, thinking that it would be costly and might need to be sent-out for repairs. Instead, it was simply a debris issue, and a no-charge cleaning solved the problem. The charge had dropped to less than three percent without a working plug connection. I worried about not having a phone for my 5-day trip to the Sunshine State. After all, I’d already spent two days without TV and internet – how much of the primitive past can one possibly take!