Phil Major

Apart from grieving the loss of a loved one, is there anything we do that’s more physically, mentally and emotionally draining than packing, moving and unpacking?

Having only recently completed that ordeal and still searching for this and that in various boxes, I would make a difficult subject to convince otherwise.

All your routines get thrown off, and in some cases, must be reestablished with different parameters. New pathways have new obstacles.

And why do I keep hauling around that vinyl record collection? I’m not sure the last time I actually played one. The oldest ones date back more than half a century.

One positive that we have managed through the last three moves has been to continually downsize.

As we are approaching (some would say already reached) that age when having less to care for is a good thing, the next event will be a living estate sale to shed what will no longer fit.

We just have too much “stuff” for the available space. And no offense to some of our good customers, but we don’t plan to pay monthly rent to house things that we do not use, want or need.

I could be a millionaire many times over had I begun investing in storage units decades ago. It’s one upfront investment, very low maintenance and not much trouble other than the occasional sale for goods left in units by delinquent owners.

The good news is that we are safely ensconced in Wood County. The weekly commute and daily drive in from the country are over. Our vehicle mileage will be reduced by a factor of at least four or five, also lowering the gas bill.

Running home to grab something comes back into the equation. Making it to weekend events, when those start happening regularly again, will not require so much planning or disruption.

We will get our evenings and weekends back to actually accomplish something rather than just hoping for a dry weekend when the grass needs mowing.

One huge benefit will be a lawn that takes 10-15 minutes to mow, at most. And our garden plans should reduce that even further.

We can also pause occasionally and take in the beauty of this area. It looks like we may be heading into an especially good season of fall colors.

And perhaps by the spring, regular golf outings can return, maybe sooner. Watch out senior scramble.

Now if anyone wants to assist with battling gophers, come see me.