I’ve become obsessed with ridding my house of clutter. It’s possible that I’m procrastinating on the deadline for The Forever Sky (Montana Gold, book 4). Or maybe the urge to spring clean has taken hold of me. I suspect something else is inspiring this purge, however.
The closer we move to our family’s departure for Europe, the easier it is to let go of extraneous possessions. I didn’t start with this attitude, by any means. You may recall my bemoaning the prospect of selling our home and moving elsewhere. I had to work through the grief of closing this chapter of my life, and probably will again.
The excitement of new horizons kicks in right when we need it, fortunately. Looking forward to change softens any transition. We’ll leave in two years’ time to research book settings in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Cornwall, and parts of England. All these locations lie within the United Kingdom. I’ve never visited that part of the world, but it sparks my creativity for some reason. Strangely, the interest seems to be returned. Stats for a Facebook ad I recently ran for one of my books revealed that 97% of clicks on the purchase link came from England.
Two years is not all that long to pare down your belongings and sell a house, plus to prepare for an overseas trip. Oh, and my husband wants to purchase land for our future home before we leave. I’m not sure why that’s so important to him, unless it’s that he needs to call somewhere in the world home, even if it’s only a parcel of land. I prefer the freedom of not owning property while we’re away, but I’m willing to cede the point. We all have our adjustments to make.
We’ll sell our house and move into an apartment for the final months before we leave, then store our household items while we’re gone. And so, I declutter.
Meanwhile…
In the immediate future, we’re planning a trip to California gold country. Going in May should allow us to avoid California during wildfire season. I’ll of course share reflections and photographs from the trip with you in a journal entry.
Until next time…
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
~ Old Irish Blessing
Bridge image by Manfred Antranias Zimmer
