[Karen83]

OK, after drinking the koolaid last Oct., putting our home on the market by Thanksgiving, burying St. Joe and praying daily that our home would sell....it did and the movers will be here in 9 days to load us up for our move Oct 30th.
This morning I woke up to packed boxes, looked around at the emptying rooms in our home of 24 years and thought "OMG, what have we done"?!?!

I immediately logged on to TOTV and felt so reassured and so very excited about finally becoming a Villager....this forum is terrific and I am now ready to get busy packing up the rest! ( I stayed out of the political )

Hope to meet alot of you at the Oct. luncheon!

Karen

[KathieI]

Congratulations!!
Welcome to the villages!!
Can't wait to meet you in Oct.
Have a good trip!!

Karen, what village are you moving into?
Hope its Heavenly Hadley the happiest village of dancing fools!
Keep us posted on your progress. Good Luck!

[Helene2008]

Hi Karen, we bought in Bonita, our closing is by mail Oct.1. We are coming up on the 15th for a few days to do walk through, pick up keys etc etc.. We will be at the luncheon in October, looking forward to meeting you and everyone else.

[Shirleevee]

and Congratulations!

[redwitch]

You just started the second part of your life and maybe the best part. Congrats and welcome! Just one suggestion, don't drink any more of the Kool-Aid -- you might want to get all of your friends and family down here and they may never forgive for the stress of moving.

[beady]

Karen..
I know just how you feel. It is such a mixture of total excitement and fear of the unknown. I looked around at all my packed boxes. just a year ago, and collapsed into tears. Guess what...it was a combination of exhaustion and excitement, certainly not regret.

Now we are living the life...being a villager and lovin every minute.

See you in October, I guarantee you will be thrilled with the benefits of having drunk the kool-aid.

[Rokinronda]

WELCOME!!!! You are smart to stay out of political, it only raises your blood pressure. Luckily, my blood pressure is just fine....Look forward to meeting you! Have a safe trip!!

KathieI, I hate to tell you, but the ORIGINAL dancing fool is in CC Hills!!!! Always, ROKIN

[chelsea24]

If I told you how happy you'll be here you wouldn't believe me! But, just to reassure you, we all went through those same feelings. I looked sadly back at out house of the last 20 years and had the same thoughts that you're having.

We have been here almost a year now and everyday it gets better. I didn't find this forum until we were here for three months, so in that respect your lucky. Between this forum and the clubs, we've made so many lifelong friends, it almost boggles the mind.

Please try to attend the Crisper's luncheon in Oct. Leave the unpacked boxes for a time and come and have some fun. Look forward to meeting you. chels

[Karen83]

Thanks for all of your warm and reassuring thoughts.....kind of brought tears to my eyes and I'm not the crying type! All of this sorting and reminising is getting to me!!

Kathie, we are renting in Hadley for at least 6 months while we decide what and where we want to buy. We are right across the street from GracieGirl, which I thought was a wonderful coincidence!!

Beady, I think I read on some post that you and your hubby are sailors as are we. We plan on scouting out the sailing club right away!

Chels, thanks for the advice about leaving the boxes packed....believe me, that is definitely my plan!!

See you all in Oct.

Karen

[eujaynia]

Hello Karen.

"Welcome to TV!"

I am located in Bonita Village (Courtyard Villa on Kenya). I love it! There are some things I wish were different about our Villa, but I will not complain because I love it so! Ok, I will... need a little bigger garage. We are just trying to get use to such a small house. Luckily, we still have our Northern home, too. Man-- I dread the day (if ever) we have to empty out this place. It will not be easy since we are both pack-rats. An OCD that I am trying to get over, but I think the other half will never achieve this goal. LOL

GOOD LUCK !!! You will be fine. It is an adjustment.... but a very FUN ONE!

[garsha]

I know how you feel. I just moved my dining room table and chairs and couch to my daughters to start preparing to move in Jan. Just really is starting to sink in. We bought 2 years ago and are finally moving 3000 miles away from a home of 20 years. One of the biggest things is the fixed income. Excited but ruffled a little. I have no doubt when we get there the jitters will disappear---it always does when I get there.

[rshoffer]

This week, exactly 1 year ago, we came down for our "lifestyle tour" after watching The Villages commercials on the The Golf Channel for many years. My wife came back in November and bought a house and on Dec 23'd our house in Pa sold! We had to be out by March 23'd but couldn't move to Florida because of other committments until June. The period from Dec 23'd to Mar 23'd was so stressful I never thought we'd pull it off. We were both working more than 40 hrs a week each and used every spare second to beging the painful and difficult process of downsizing. That means going through boxes of photos, memories, decades of our lives. Even though you know what's waiting at the end, it's a painful and bittersweet process. Then comes the good-byes... saying good-bye to friends and family, co-workers, gym buddies etc. When you finally arrive you are drained and exhausted but excited and relieved. I have been surprised about how little I've read about how hard a move like this really is. Was it worth it? As I type this the earliest peaks of sunrise are just starting to shine outside the window on one of the most beautiful and fun places i have ever been. Yes, it was.

[rshoffer]

Originally Posted by garsha

I know how you feel. I just moved my dining room table and chairs and couch to my daughters to start preparing to move in Jan. Just really is starting to sink in. We bought 2 years ago and are finally moving 3000 miles away from a home of 20 years. One of the biggest things is the fixed income. Excited but ruffled a little. I have no doubt when we get there the jitters will disappear---it always does when I get there.

Yes, they will.

[downeaster]

About those boxes you are packing, we have been here seven years October 1 and there are still boxes we haven't unpacked.

Relax and enjoy the move. A great experience awaits you here.



DC

[Peachie]

What have you done, Karen? You've committed yourself to a high quality lifestyle in terms of fitness, social connections, mental stimulation and all encompassed in a beautiful area in which to live. We Villagers can tell already that you have impeccable taste! Saying goodbye to the memories of a house in which life was well lived is probably the most difficult part but you will feel so comfortable with your decision when you arrive in TV.

I deduced a long time ago that "stuff" does not make memories, our brains do. So we will always have our memories with us, sans the "stuff, unless the brain goes. And if the brain goes, it won't make any difference. Life is so much more fun without so much "stuff"! Welcome home..