Getting Settled In...
Well... this is my first post from our new home (shown above) in Washington State. It's been quite the journey to get here, as well as settle in. It's a whole new experience for all of us, and yet kind of familiar at the same time. At least for Helen, her brother, and their mother. They've all lived under the same roof together before. I'm the newbie in this case, aside from growing up with my own family of course.
Luckily, we got a pretty good idea of how we'd all click based on the Verbo places we all stayed in on our previous visits to Washington, during our house hunting. Mind you, none of this would've ever been possible for just Helen and me. Between health issues for both of us, (and me having had to retire due to disability) affording much less managing an entire house would've been a Herculean task.
However, after my mom took ill and before she passed last October, Helen's mother brought up an idea Helen had suggested a couple of years ago, about one day combining our households under one roof. At the time Helen had proposed the idea, her mom had been open to thinking about the idea down the road. However, during the following years the ever-worsening heat spells where she lived in Stockton and increasing drought seasons, she was now ready to pull up stakes and relocate. Once we were all agreed now was the time, we all proceeded to focus our search to the upper part of California or Washington state. That's when our efforts really got under way.
Eventually, we figured out Washington would be the better prospect both financially, as well as environmentally. Plus, there would be better job opportunities for Helen and her brother. So, we made plans to come check out several areas of Washington state.
Our first couple of visits where to the Tacoma region, Bremerton/Port Orchard, and the Olympia/Lacey/Tumwater vicinities. Eventually, we narrowed our search down to Olympia/Lacey and Tumwater. And after more research and visits, we found one place we liked. Unfortunately, we could not come to an agreement with the current owner. They did not want to make any repairs, or haggle on the price so we could afford to make necessary repairs to the place, so in the end that one did not pan out.
On a later visit to the state, we found this place and it was perfect. Helen's mom had already put her current house, back in Stockton California, on the market, to help pay for the new place. Naturally, Helen and I kicked in money as well, along with her brother, to help buy our new home. Otherwise, as I said earlier, there was no way Helen and I could ever afford to buy a decent sized home on our own. Especially, not in Santa Cruz California where we'd been living. Seriously. Even a decent 1100-1400 sf home would average close to 1 million dollars around there, no exaggeration.
After we made our offer and it was accepted, Helen and I (who had been packing for months already because we knew a move was coming eventually), got a storage locker to put a lot of our already packed boxes in.
It was during this time that my mom passed away (last October). Naturally, Helen and I, had to travel back east (to Long Island, NY) to help my brothers with going through mom's stuff and closing out her apartment. It was a very difficult time for all, but we managed to get through it. Of course, we all still miss her in our own ways. In my case, I used to make a cup of tea and sit down at the table to call her every Saturday morning. And Mom would be waiting for my call with a cup of tea at her end (because we always had tea together when we lived close by), and we'd just chat like we always did about everything and nothing. After she died, whenever Saturday rolled around, I'd find myself making a cup of tea and reaching for my phone... only to remember she wouldn't be there to pick up anymore.
Of course, I still have those days and really miss those talks. But I know she's with my stepfather, who she adored and loved very much, and that helps.
TO BE CONTINUED...
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