Signs of Life

 It’s been a hard winter. With the abnormally heavy rains of November and December, and the abnormally cold January and February, I'm ready for a change. Hope remains for March. We love to complain about the weather. But it’s one of those things we can’t do anything about.

Our time here at Timber Valley in Sutherlin Oregon is growing short. Especially considering how fast the years fly by. Dar and I have been thinking, talking, and investigating our next step, the next chapter. We've watched as others in our community have died and left major problems for their heirs. Despite the feelings we have toward our "stuff", the reality is that the kids don't want it. And neither does anyone else. And we really don't have that much "stuff". So call Goodwill, back up the truck, and take it away.

Being 3 hours south of our closest offspring, there's another issue to consider. If (or probably When) one of us falls ill and the other isn't able to provide full care, the 3-hour barrier is a significant obstacle. And our kids have their own lives and jobs... and neither of us wants to be a burden to them.

It's been a dream of mine to live in a walk-able community. Park the car and forget about it. The ideal is to have all the basic services and necessities within an easy walk of our home. During the last couple years it's become clear to us that the town where our daughter lives could be just that. Within a 6 or 8 block circle there's a full-size Safeway grocery store, an awesome hardware store, the community library, an active downtown area with coffee shops, restaurants, bars, night-life, an artsy-vibe and access to walking trails. It's an easy drive to Portland's international airport PDX (scratch the travel-itch), excellent medical resources, and an even wider array of many other big town features.

Since we've already adapted to living small, a move to even a small apartment will double our living space and it could feel downright luxurious.

In the next 6 or 8 (or 10?) months, we'll be getting more serious about this. A lot has to fall into place, and we're looking for the stars to align just right, but that's the rough bones of a plan.