As you may know, I recently moved. Again. For the umpteenth time. And I’m just as fond of it this last time as I was the first time.

NOT.

First, there’s the cleaning and the sorting even before the packing. Maybe garage sales, trips to Goodwill, putting stuff on the curb. You learn to look at things in a different way – Do I really want to haul this thing 800 miles?! You evaluate the value of each possession, and marvel at how things seem to multiply in the dark. TEN pairs of flip-flops? What was I thinking? How long is summer, anyway?

Once you’re packed and moved, then it’s getting used to a new place. New places make new noises, have new odors, new nooks and crannies. Rain sounds different, and the wind blows from what seems is a different direction. It’s disconcerting, but it’s pretty neat, too.

I wasn’t really sure about this new place. The rugs were in bad shape, and I have a stray cat living under the house. Squirrels scamper across the roof; at least, I hope it’s squirrels and not some mutant alien with long, sharp teeth and claws. I love the yard — it’s overgrown and needs a lot of work, but the street is very peaceful. Slowly, it’s becoming home and I really like the process.

Still, I hope I don’t have to move again for a long time. A long, long, time. It’s a lot of work, and the older I get, the more I downsize and the harder it is to hold on to stuff that isn’t necessary. And isn’t that one of the benefits of getting older? You strip away a lot of the unecessary, not only the material but the emotional as well. I don’t worry about things like physical appearances, neither mine or someone else’s; I don’t worry about skin color, gender, sexual orientation, or religion (as long as you don’t try to stuff it down my throat.) I think about how to make the most of the time I have. Momma’s passing really brought that home, and not to be morbid, but there’s an awareness of a ticking clock there wasn’t before.

I want simple and stress-free. I don’t want to spend the next thirty years (hopefully) caught up in what I don’t have, things that don’t matter. Enjoying each day the best I can, even embracing the sadness as a part of human nature and part of the journey.