Category Archives: Downsize

Purge Project

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Bathroom storage space

I love this feeling of freedom and anticipation as I rid myself of the stuff around me that serves no purpose for the present or future adventure I am anticipating.

One room at a time and I started in the bathroom.  It took, can you believe, THREE hours!  I sorted out stuff to throw, give away, store and take with me to Germany.

My past as a hair design artist meant I had lots of stuff related to that business.  Those were very good years when I worked in a lovely salon with a lot of creative colleagues.  Each day was devoted to making beautiful hair for the many clients I served and I loved it.  But now, most of the tools of that trade are no longer relevant to the present and in fact those tools might be well used by another.  The give away category took the majority of those items. Continue reading →

Retirement Ahead

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Retirement Ahead for Minnesota Marion

I will retire from my position as Resident Manager of Banfill Crossing in mid April of 2017.

I will retire from my position as Resident Manager of Banfill Crossing in mid April of 2017.  A search for my replacement is under way and I love thinking about handing off this terrific job to someone else knowing that I have developed order and structured organization into this setting.  Great Lakes Management Company has provided a fantastic working environment and I am so thankful for these last 6 years.

My job is “on the market” and everything I own is being stored or sold. I am lightening the load and the ground is shrinking as I move to a place of further dependence on the Lord of my life. Continue reading →

Remember When…

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My dads words come to mine. “How many room can you live in at one time?”

My parents would be glad to see that their message of contentment got through to me. Thanks dear ones. I love them more every day and with each fond memory of their wise words.

When I was young and just starting out, I got that first apartment and savored the freedom of finally being on my own. Then the dreaming and striving turned to ward getting a house. It was all so “right” as the family grew and our needs changed over the years.

About the time age 40 came around, if your like me, you almost thought that you and your peers were sort of running the word. That “illusion” was in place for a very short time and before you could blink, it seemed like all the kids were gown and gone. Maybe they moved far away or it may have been you and your spouse that moved far away. Continue reading →

Circling the Wagons

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Families helping each other navigate the season of life after 55

Families helping each other navigate the season of life after 55

I have seen that this is exactly what families do when parents are getting older. There is this pragmatic need to get mom and dad back into the neighborhood or at least in the same metro area so that travel time to get to them is a doable effort. Families helping each other navigate the season of life after 55 are really a time of discovery that can be rewarding for everyone by choosing a mood of caring cooperation. The key term is PRO-active. Getting in front of the needs, with a realistic assessment is what is really needed. Continue reading →

All That “STUFF”

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books I no longer wanted had some monetary value

books I no longer wanted had some monetary value

I noticed that when the children were grown and established in their own lives I began thinking about different kinds of things.  Looking around at my possessions, I began to wonder why I wanted all that stuff?  A new freedom came to me when I realized that I was under no obligation to keep on in the same manner… I had the freedom to make new choices!  I began to dream and think about what I wanted to do with the near future. Continue reading →