And once again, just like that…

 We no longer have the vintage Victorian prairie-style home in the Hill Country. Last week was the closing  on that big old home which has a new family now. I wish them happiness in that 113-year-old house and decades of memories on those 23 acres.

On New Year’s Eve of last year, we were driving around a small town after going to an early-morning farmers’ market. My husband started driving thru older subdivisions which had massive trees and custom homes and yards with a few acres rather than quarter-acre plots. We saw houses for sale, nice homes that were well-cared-for and distinctive in style. “I think it’s time to move… that big house and all that property is getting to be too much to handle,” he said.

What?!?!?  I had been telling him that for the past five years. I asked him if he was serious. “Look on your phone and find a realtor in this area. That’s how serious I am.”  And that’s what I did…. a Google search on realtors…. found a photo of a friendly-looking agent… and made an appointment for the day after New Year’s.  When we got home from the farmers’ market, I started taking down the Christmas tree and packing the holiday decorations for a truck-move, not just a walk-to-the-storage-closet move. My get-me-out-of-this-country-nightmare adrenaline had kicked in.

And so it began, the house-hunting to find a home the size of the one we had left in Clear Lake when we just had to move to the Hill Country because my husband dreamed of owning property away from hurricane evacuation zones. We looked at approximately 75 houses on-line, and visited about a dozen homes which passed my husband’s Google Earth test. The realtor was very patient.

While the Google Earth searches were going on, I sold everything that I knew we wouldn’t have room for in a smaller house. Rather than one huge yard sale, I did five or six smaller sales… and what didn’t get sold was given away. And then I began packing… and packing… and packing. Downsizing is not for sissies.

We have a beautiful custom-built home with updated bathrooms and a fabulous kitchen… high ceilings and tall windows…. and the windows weren’t painted shut 80 years ago. Two acres of yard and trees, with a front porch and a back porch, and a backyard all fenced-in for the dogs. A small town with a city vibe… lots of stores and shopping centers and ethnic restaurants.

Our last move. Truly our last move. I hope to never see another packing box and a giant roll of tape. I feel absolutely blessed that we sold that property and bought this small slice of serenity.