Rode hard 'n hung up wet!

That would be a good description of my last few weeks! I could detect a small hint that my life was going to take another major turn, but it isn't real until it happens. One is never truly prepared. 

When my dad put his home here on the market, I thought I had more prep time, mentally if not physically. But alas, it sold in three days. Yes, THREE! That tells me one thing . . . it was priced a tad too low. He wanted to be on his way, however, and that is that. 

Then the fun, or shall I say work, began. All of the prep and paperwork that go into the proper sale of a home can be overwhelming to say the least, but the chips tend to fall where they will, and all went as well as it could. Just let me say that I HATE DEADLINES!! And that's what a closing date is. I agreed to coordinate the removal of furniture and all the other folderal that a person gathers during their lifetime. I thought "piece 'o cake"! Yeah, right. 

Push didn't come to shove until about two weeks before the closing. That's when my list making and organizational skills kicked into overdrive. With mine, on top of dad's, we "got 'er done". But my problem is that I don't know when to quit. I pick, prod, and poke until there's nothing left to pick, prod, and poke. But today I locked the door on his home for the last time. The new owner can just move in, being assured that it's as clean as it's gonna get! 

Here's the rub . . . as I went from room to room I would look at an item and remember the story behind it. Or I'd just stand in the middle of a room and recall conversations or things that happened there. The old saying, "If walls could talk", is something to ponder. Or shutting your eyes and seeing the ghostly images of those times past is very moving. But the most bothersome part is knowing that you can never again get the good stuff back. It's moved on. And that's what I will do. I have some of those memories in my house now, so I can still look back on the good times. The new owners of that house can now make their own memories within those walls.

It's not easy knowing I will no longer be having "adventures" with my dad, or having dinner with him most every night. Kind of tough to do when he'll forever be 1600 miles away. I will get to Iowa occasionally, but it's not the same. Our time on earth is an ever-changing experience, and it's oh so short when you consider infinity. We're just a tiny drop in a huge universe. That's why I will live my mantra: 

"Live With Intention"