Dare I Post This?

Knocking on wood is more illustrative but the perfect picture wasn't free.

Life is fragile, a tiny bone ruining a bit of fish, a mislaid pin piercing a bare foot. It doesn’t take much to change the course of the day. In our household, dominos are shifting, so here I am sharing our status (statuses, statae, stati?) with you. I will not disparage true victims of PTSD by adopting the acronym, but I experience a small level of anxiety when recalling the most recent events, fearing that if I talk about it, the plans will fall through. (Knock on wood.)

First, the house sale from hell is closed!!! I will reveal here the name of the offending real estate agency: DeLex Realty. Avoid at all costs. Nevertheless, Misha’s (formerly ED) beloved house in Glendale is now in the hands of a new owner whom I do not blame for the closing fiasco unless said buyer opted to go with a friend or relative rather than a trusted professional. My short stint in real estate convinced me to go with the pro. Anyway, we have been notified that the sale is recorded in the county annals which, in Arizona, means it is done.

I do miss the transactions in Illinois when buyers, sellers, agents, and lawyers sat together at the table, exchanging checks and keys simultaneously, like children exchanging treasures but not trusting that the other child will release his hold and you holding tight to yours if he doesn’t.

‘Okay, on three. One, two, three.’

[eyes holding gaze while pheripheral vision and proprioception

anticipate the authenticity of the transaction.]

‘Okay, really, this time.’

Once exchanged, though, parties were assured that the sale was complete. In Arizona, other than a few signatures completed at your convenience, everything is digital, on documents that no one reads because the phone is too small, stored in a cloud which no one can remember or find (iCloud? Google Drive? Dropbox? One Drive?), with an expired link. Then you wait for confirmation that an agreeable drone at the county courthouse feels compelled to show up at work to scan said documents into history. As it is, we are in possession of several keys. Perhaps I could craft a collage.

The other domino: Misha is now a full-time permanent employee of Holy Cow Management, serving as executive director of a soon-to-be-built assisted living/memory care facility in Cave Creek or Carefree, all the same from here. Forgive any errors in details, but it sounds good, she’s happy, we are all relieved.

The placement of those dominos now nudges Mike’s sister into deciding on a move freeing their parents’ home for Misha to purchase. Even if that works out, there will be months of renovations before Misha can move in followed by months of renovations before we can move out. And no, we don’t know where we are going, so please don’t ask.

Mike and I have plans to leave June 16 for the Midwest. Using Chicago as a hub, I have planned excursions (methinks I have taken too many tours) interspersed with not-enough time with the grandbabies who are no longer babies. Mike will flit back and forth until we return to Arizona, probably at the end of October, just in time for glorious weather and another house concert by JW-Jones*, part of our Casa de Cornelius Final Tour. Like all great stars, we are taking our time.

And so it goes.

*And yes, you are invited.