Homegoing

No, not like the dying kind and going home to Jeez-us....this is the going home to Maryland, my home for the past 30 years.  Although I am now officially a Florida residence and a Florida voter...can’t wait to see how that unfolds....it is now time to return to Maryland and my life there.

My better half and I have never done this.  Close up a home for six months and hope it’s  there when you return.  We have less than one week and we are in panic mode.

Last night, we hit the hot tub at 10:30, eating a couple of dark chocolates with orange cream filling...decadent but delicious.  Exhausted and crawling out of the spa, totally relaxed and ready for sleep.  He tossed and turned for over an hour and finally got up and read all the new homeowner instructions AGAIN, fretting over every detail.

We’ve engaged a pool service, a lawn service, a hurricane shutter service and the worst part is we have to leave the air conditioning on all summer.  We don’t even use air!!!  Supposedly, if we don’t, we’ll return to an overwhelmingly moldy house that will cost us way more than the air.  Trust me, we’re not happy about it, but.....ohhh, the hidden costs.

My panic involves the plants.  Will they die or thrive?  One of the pony tail palms still doesn’t look all that happy.  The Christmas palm has brown spot fungus.  There’s no one to spray the fungicide or insecticide for six months.  I painstakingly pluck off every dead leaf of every plant, dead head them as the blossoms fade, dig up every weed that grows through the mulch, spray weed killer between the driveway pavers.  They’re all in bloom now......waaaaahhh, I hate to leave them!

Gotta stop the newspapers, change the mailing address, close up the condo we rented and didn’t use, throw out the garbage and recycling, empty the refrigerator and pantry.
Definitely not the fun part.

But, it’s not all bad.  We got all these new homeowner coupons we have to use before we leave so our cars are clean...thank you, Eager Beaver Car Wash!  We hit Brew Burger for Happy Hour, got the free app and $2 beers. Ate our free gelatos at Ciao Gelato.  Last night was a decidedly cheap night at Daiquiri Deck....2 for 1 daiquiris and a pizza and with our $10 coupon, that came to $7!

After bridge yesterday, we walked West Venice Avenue, our equivalent of Main Street.  Our best find?  Wine tasting at Bonnell’s Boutique & Winery....trust me, I didn’t need the daiquiri afterwards.  While the guy is tasting the wines, the gal can be getting a facial.  Really!  This gal was tasting the wines....tried to talk Buff Honey into the facial but he wasn’t having any part of it.  Walked out with six bottles and an Albert Wine-Stein tee shirt.  The best wines???  Made in St. Pete, Florida....all citrus, no grapes, 10% alcohol.  Amazing stuff.

Now, we’re hitting the beach almost daily.  Gotta see our last sunsets on the Gulf, ride with the top down on Manasota Beach Road, hit Scoops, our favorite ice cream store.  Can’t miss another outing at Snook Haven, traveling down a long sand road ending on the Mayakka River, ordering fried pickles and grouper sandwiches, listening to live bluegrass under the oaks.

Every night, we follow the Baltimore Orioles on my Sports Tap app.  We watched the Orioles-Dodgers game on TBS and I was horrified to see the fans in Baltimore dressed in jackets, hats and gloves.  Noooo.....I’m not liking that but my guy reminds me it will be much warmer when we return next week.

There’s the annual Derby Day party at my daughter’s next weekend, a grandson’s 3rd birthday celebration, a bridge gala and tournament.  Family milestones coming...my son’s 30th.  A new grandchild being born in August...currently referred to as Gizmo on Facebook....I’m hoping for a more endearing moniker than that after birth.

I’m selling my house and you can imagine I’m really looking forward to all the work that goes along with that!  But, life is change. Life is renewal.

I think I’m ready for this Home Going!