The Seasons have changed and so has our life! Winter has transitioned to Spring and we’ve gone from an “almost” empty nest to a multi-gen household!! Read on to hear about all of the changes that have taken place since my last post!!
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First, My Apologies
Hello friends! I’m sorry it’s been so long since I was in communication with you on the blog. You see, a lot has transpired since my last post on February 5th.
To make a very long story short, we decided to sell our house and move in with my Dad, until we can relocate to Florida. Our oldest two boys and my Dad will eventually head south with us, so there’s no empty nest in sight. I’m totally good with that, in fact, I’m really happy about it!
Why we are making a big move
Two main reasons: my health and job opportunities for our sons.
In January of 2019, I was diagnosed with Sjogren’s Syndrome, an autoimmune disorder. Doctors also determined I had been exposed to mold, in the building I was working in, and my health has not been the same since. So, after a lot of prayer and soul searching, I felt God was leading me to retire from hairdressing. My doctors said the climate in Florida would be better for my symptoms. So, we made a very difficult choice to move away from family and friends. We chose the Orlando area because two of our sons would like to work in the Video Game Industry, something Louisville does not have.
The icing on the cake
Of course, a perk of living near Orlando is our beloved Disney World! Instead of visiting every two to three years, we can go whenever we want!
And the beach is only an hour or two away, depending on which coast you want to visit. Our favorite beach is Siesta Key! We love the gulf coast!
The dream becomes reality
So, our dream of retiring to Florida has come early, well at least for me it has! I know, I can’t believe I’m actually old enough to retire! Rich however, is younger than me (no “cougar” comments please) and isn’t receiving mail from AARP yet! Luckily for us, he works from home and can basically live anywhere there is high speed internet access. That means we can move at any time!
What Happened next
Selling the house
So, in December, we hired a fabulous realtor, Melanie Murphy, to sell our home. We highly recommend her.
On February 21st we received the third and final offer on our house (the first two offers are a story for another day). It was an emotional roller coaster but Melanie made the journey so much easier! Did I mention she was wonderful and you should call her if you want to sell your house??
Then the real crazy hit
Retiring and selling the house was causing a great deal of stress in my life. And then, we were hit with news of the Coronavirus!! Soon after, we heard from our son at Miami University that classes would be online the rest of the semester. And so he came home on March 14th.
On March 19th I officially retired, after working 35 years as a hairdresser. Unfortunately, for my clients, I had to shut down 3 days early, since our Governor said all salons must close.
On the 18th Rich drove to Montana, that’s 24 hours in two days, to pick up Harrison from Montana State University and then drove back home in two days again. Wow! Fastest road trip ever!
We hired Shea Ritter, a family member, who owns a moving company called Store To Door, to pack our PODS. He and another employee did a great job!!! It was like putting a major puzzle together! They got so much more inside than we could have ever done on our own! If you need someone to move furniture, give him a call!!
On March 23rd we closed on the house (sitting inside our cars because of social distancing) and moved in with my Dad.
WHAT HAPPENS NOW?
Finding a new home
We postponed our plans to go to Florida on Saturday, April 4th to begin our house hunt. Now, we have no idea how long we will be living here. We are working with a great realtor in Florida named Amy Kidwell with Heart and Home Orlando and will continue the house hunt virtually!! What an interesting time we live in, huh??
What about the blog?
So, as I’m sure you can imagine, the blog will be taking on a new look. After all, I no longer have my own home to organize, decorate and spruce up with DIY projects. But just think how fun it will be to take a blank house and turn it into a beautiful, functional, organized home!
Until then we’ll be sharing how we managed to go from an almost empty nest that was 3,035 square feet to a 1,500 square foot multi-generational home with 6 adults, 2 dogs and a cat! I’ll be sharing organizing pics and DIY projects from our old home and what we’re doing in my Dad’s house, as well. It’s going to be an interesting ride and you won’t want to miss a minute!! So, if you haven’t signed up to receive our weekly email, then now is the time to do it! We’re going to have a blast organizing our life together!!
Blessings, Rich and Donna
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Love you, and good luck on your new adventure. Love you
Thanks Carol, I know how you love the beach, so next time you go to FL you’ll have to make a pit stop in the Winter Garden/Clermont area and come see us! Love ya’ll!!