A Monumental Wait

One day your life will flash before your eyes.

Make sure it’s worth watching.

(Author Unknown)

Monument Valley, Utah – altered photo

with plug-in paint filter and applied texture

Fair warning! My posts may be a bit skimpy for the rest of this month. Our new Grey Havens cottage will soon be ready. It's been a long journey to get from Points A to B.

Point A started in late September 2006. Hubby retired earlier that year. I was planning to retire in late 2008. But a stressful work situation and a contentious management team helped me decide to accelerate that plan up a year. And we thought we would get a head start by putting our country cottage and acreage up for sale before my retirement. It was time to downsize and simplify. It was time to do more traveling, have fun with hobbies, and just plain enjoy life!

We spent several months getting the place ready. Then we put our rambling country cottage on the market. We started packing and putting boxes in storage. We were optimistic. We thought it would sell quickly. Wrong. Many folks loved it and wanted to buy it, but they couldn’t afford it or else had property of their own to sell.

I retired, grateful to be finally free from the daily working grind. We got very discouraged about the place not selling, but we kept our dreams alive. We took belongings out of storage and we proceeded to unpack. Garage sales and donations followed. We found a place where we wanted to build and put down a deposit on a lot. We said goodbye to our first realtor and hired a tag-team of two realtors who understood marketing. Patience finally paid off. This past November, we turned over the keys of our former Grey Havens to a young couple. Work got underway in December for our new cottage. Construction is now winding down. Hello, Point B!

There were many positive outcomes during our monumental waiting period. I got a renewed interest in photography, thanks to the digital revolution and the gift of time. I also started this blog, which further pushed me to sharpen my picture taking and photo editing skills. We’ll soon be moving and unpacking a mountain of boxes. Mentally, we’re already counting the days until our grizzly and polar bear wilderness trips later on this year.

And so the next chapter begins…

Monument Valley, Utah