Changes Afoot in Jane's Domain

I realized the other day that this past Christmas was the first year in my adult life that I didn’t send out a single holiday card or letter.

I had the cards. I had the stamps.

But I didn’t have the time.

I suspect that waiting until Christmas 2022 to update people about the goings on in Jane’s Domain in the months since my beloved Vince passed away is a little too far off.

So, folks, consider this my annual letter.

For one thing, I sold my house and moved. Yeah, I know. That’s actually a major thing and has consumed much of my time and energy in recent months.

I knew that the house Vince and I had happily lived in for nearly a decade was far too big and far too much responsibility to handle alone. And, honestly, I didn’t really want to live there without my Vince. Every morning I sat on the loveseat in our beautiful living room drinking my morning coffee without him made me incredibly
sad. 

So I spent several months decluttering and downsizing our belongings. And then I spent time cleaning, staging and making the place look as though nobody lived there.

Have you done this house selling thing recently? Egads. One cannot live in a house without daily messes – crumbs on the floor, damp towels hanging on the towel rack, dish soap and scrubbies on the edge of the sink.

So I made the bed every day as if a cranky drill sergeant planned to stop by and inspect by bouncing a quarter off it.

My solution to not having crumbs on the floor was simply not to cook or eat in the kitchen. Instead, I grabbed something from the fridge (those ready-to-eat salads were a lifesaver!) and took them in the car with me as Maggie Minx and I sat in various parking lots waiting for the showing to be over.

And my solution to never having damp towels on the towel rack was to never take a shower.

Oh, c’mon. I kid. I did take showers. Weekly.

No, really. If you must know, I took showers at night and then washed my towels right away so there was never evidence of a mere mortal living on the premises who required bathing.

As I did these things I smiled imagining what my parents would have been like if they’d tried selling their house while they were still living in it.

They would’ve pooh-poohed the idea of staging a home. They were fairly neat people, anyway, but they would never have removed the laundry detergent from the laundry room. (See? Nobody EVER has to do mundane chores such as laundry in this magical house!)

Mom and dad would have balked at removing family photos off the fireplace mantel or their wedding picture in its gilt frame that had graced mom’s dresser for over 50 years.

And if a realtor scheduled a showing while it was during their happy hour, I could just see them sitting in their family room with their glass of wine in hand telling potential buyers to ignore them. (But who knows? Perhaps mom and dad would’ve invited them to stick around for a drink!)

I, on the other hand, knew I wanted to show my home in the best possible light. And that meant that I had to polish and shine and scrub and clean daily – while at the same time continuing to pack and declutter and organize in anticipation of my upcoming move.

I was both grateful and sad when an offer was made on my house as I truly hated leaving my wonderful neighborhood. But I know that the friendships I made while we lived there will endure.

As my neighbor and friend Suzy has said many times through the years, “You’ve joined the dark side and you can’t escape us now!”

Hmm. That sounds much more malevolent than it was intended. She merely meant that once you become a neighbor, you’re always a neighbor. And a friend.

I love that.

The current housing market, while great for sellers, isn’t so great for buyers. And I didn’t want to deal with trying to buy and sell at the same time.

So I moved to a community in nearby New Albany. My apartment is a smaller 2 BR/2BA flat with a 2-car attached garage. Eighty percent of the residents here are 55 and older. So I don’t have to worry about the neighbor’s music being cranked too loud or wild parties keeping me from my beauty sleep.

Well. On second thought, I am not sure about the first thing. Older people can be hard of hearing. And I think my “beauty sleep” ship has long since sailed.

But so far I love living here.

Now when my furnace needs some attention, I can call someone who has to come out and fix it. And I don’t have to open my checkbook.  Bonus!

And when the snow needs to be cleared off the driveway, I don’t have to get out there with my handy-dandy shovel and get to work. The maintenance guy comes by with his snow blower and by the time I get up, it’s all been cleared.

This is comfortable for me. For now, anyway.

So that’s one major change in Jane’s Domain.

I’m sure there are other things that I will tell you about in coming weeks.

Stay tuned.

Oh, and Happy 2022, everyone. Stay safe. Stay well. And if you want my new address, let me know. Cards and housewarming gifts always welcome. (😉!)