Changes

The advice for widows we hear at every turn is largely: "Don't make any major changes for the first year."

Well, I've gone against all that advice. In the last 33 days, I have
-- arranged to have a new roof put on my house and take care of some interior fixes;
-- put my house on the market, priced to sell;
-- got an interested buyer in the first person to walk through; and, today,
-- signed a sales agreement.

I haven't even left myself any time to breathe between now and June 4, when we have a closing. By then, I need to locate a new place to rent (in a town I like very much, 30 miles from here). I also need to downsize from 12 rooms of furniture, to a one-bedroom lifestyle.

Amazingly, I am okay with all of this. The biggest change in my life -- losing Frank forever -- has already occurred. I am now in a position to plow through the next set of changes and challenges. Selling the house has nothing to do with "too many memories" here. It's all about realizing that I no longer have Frank's income. Changes this dramatic have to happen. I just have to learn to live differently now, in so many ways.