The Diverging Path
Saturday Frank showed up as promised at 7AM to start prepping. His goal was to patch the area of the ceiling that had a small but long crack and pressure wash the house in anticipation of painting the exterior next weekend. As I walked outside with him he asked about removing stuff that would be in the way for washing/painting. I have been so focused on working on the inside I paid little attention to the outside. All of a sudden I went into fire drill mode armed with some hand tools and one of my cordless drills, removing a couple dozen things. The biggest subtraction was the water barrel which was still functional but the wooden stand I made 15 years ago or more was falling apart so I just ripped it all down and put the barrel out front for the curb shoppers.
During the morning I continued cleaning up the interior, dropped off paint and chemicals at the recycling center, dropped another box at Goodwill and then mowed the grass when I got home. Frank had entertained the idea of starting to paint the front of the house but decided against it. He headed out after finishing up the pressure cleaning around 1 or 1:30. Once he left I kept going. I made more progress on the hobby room. The spare desk that was in the office went to the curb as well. It was a productive day.
On Sunday morning I had a bit of a slower start. After grabbing coffee Elsa and I did a lap around the park, something I have really been slacking on lately. Once I got home late morning the clean up resumed. The white shelf that was by the front door was taken out to the curb, it was picked up in less than 30 minutes. I delivered a bunch of things to the curb during the day, I would say 2/3 of it was picked up already which is great as it does not require me to transport or lug it elsewhere. I also took a number of filled boxes out to the old chicken coop where I had one of my hobby benches set up to hold them. It made the main living space look a little less chaotic. The hobby room now has nothing left on the walls and a few things in the closet. Getting that space handled is a big relief.
Later in the afternoon I hopped on my EX20S for a ride to Dunkin Donuts. Riding a wheel is very therapeutic for me, turning whatever is front and center in my mind into background noise. The suspension on this wheel is so soft that it feels like I am riding on a cushion. The video covers whatever random thoughts popped into my head at the time.
I got to watch the Eagles/Giants game which had a favorable outcome. The win secured the Eagles with the best record in the NFC giving them a bye week for the first round of playoffs which can be a huge advantage. It gives them an extra week to get as healthy as possible for a serious playoff push.
I talked recently in my video from last weekend about how my life had reached a point where I was straying from a very established path by deciding to try to sell my house. Through various periods of upheaval in my life during the last 21 years the place I lay my head at night has always been the same. The idea that I someday would need to walk away from the place was always in the back of my mind. The amount of work it requires to maintain, especially since I have been single this time around has been overbearing at times. It’s time to change.
I have never been a huge fan of change and quite often will resist it far longer than it makes sense, at times to my detriment. The change that is ahead of me is massive, imposing, and filled with question marks. Yet, it is also necessary. My path is clearly diverging from the main trail I have wandered confidently on for decades. The new direction is not clearly defined and leads to an unknown destination with unknown consequences. My life has had a lot of calculated and predictable situations. I generally like to know what I am getting into as it gives me the best opportunity to have successful outcomes. I don’t know what is around this blind corner.