Maybe I’m slower on the uptake than I should be, but it just recently occurred to me must how much change there is ahead for Gerry and me. Perhaps the biggest change comes from the fact that not only are we retiring, we are repatriating to Canada which, by definition, means we will be moving to a new country/province/city/home. Don’t for a moment think that Canada and the United States are similar enough that there isn’t a culture shock with moving between the two countries. We experienced it six years ago when we moved here and I expect we’ll experience something similar when we move back despite the fact that we’re going back to that which is familiar.
Over the past couple of years when we’ve been visiting the kids we’ve toured show homes and gotten pretty well oriented to the area. I’ve been cruising the real estate listings in earnest for some time now and I’ve got a pretty good idea of what we want in terms of a new home. I’m excited about this; I even dreamed about house shopping last night!
Of course there’s also the pesky business of selling our current home. Thank goodness the housing market is improving in this area. I’m not looking forward to process of having our house listed and having to make sure it’s kept pristine at all times. Not that my home is particularly messy, but there is a certain state one wants a home to be presented to potential buyers. I predict that my obsessive, need-for-control, tendencies will experience a sharp increase once we put the house on the market in a couple of months.
I’ve been thinking about some of the things I’ve grown accustomed to over the past six years that will change once we’re back home and that I’ll miss. I think I’ll miss the convenience Amazon.com more than anything else. Amazon simplifies my life in so many ways and has gone far beyond the convenience of shopping for books on my laptop on Saturday mornings while sipping coffee in bed.
Case in point: a few weeks ago I broke the cover for my Cuisinart while making dog food. I grabbed my iPad, did a quick search on Amazon to see if they carried it, and in the space of a couple of minutes with a couple of clicks I ordered a new one, received free shipping thanks to my Amazon Prime membership, and a few days later it was waiting for me at my front door when I got home from work.
There is an Amazon.ca in Canada and I just did a comparison. They do have online shopping but the selection seems limited compared to Amazon.com. That Cuisinart cover I ordered recently? Not available on Amazon.ca. I checked another item I ordered from Amazon, a pressure canner, and it is available on Amazon.ca for a cost of $129.99 but on Amazon.com, with my Prime membership, I pay only $74.99 and get free shipping to boot!
Now, I started this post with the intent of writing about change but now that I’ve realized just how much I’m losing with having to give up Amazon.com I’m cutting this short. I’ve got some shopping to do before we move.
So much to do, so little time, right? Your retirement transition will be different from most of us, and yet it’s a going home for you. What a bittersweet time in your life. Praying it goes smoothly.
Linda, I admire so much about Canada and Canadians. If you are following your heart back home, you will be happy, I’m sure. You can even become an amalgamated world citizen, taking with you, as much as possible, the best of both worlds.
My husband and I returned to his home area in Virginia, the place where we met nearly 50 years ago. We just love it, and moving at ages 64 and 62 was just right for us. Selling and buying houses is intensive work for a while. But then comes the reward.
May it be so for you. Blessings on the path.
[…] Many thanks to Linda Hoye, the photographer of the lovely picture of crayons above. Linda is one of the people (more than 300 so far) who pre-ordered Blush: A Mennonite Girl Meets a Glittering World and told me about it. I’m thrilled and grateful, Linda. Big hugs to you. Linda blogs at Slice of Life Writing. […]