by Hope
Now that I’ve been at my parents for one week and some change. I have finally completed unloading my car and gotten my personal items organized. After a week off work, I had to hit the ground running. So my office is still under construction. (And somehow along the way, I broke my computer. Not un-useable, but well, more on that later.)
It was an exhausting and exhilarating last couple of weeks in Georgia. The house sold, all the kids came to Georgia, Princess graduated, Princess turned 21, and Mother’s Day. It was a whirlwind.
I was so ready to get settled into some sort of normalcy that I skipped my planned stop to visit friends where I went to high school. I spent 17 hours straight in the car just to get to a landing spot.
Setting Up “House”
Now I’ve begun ticking off a laundry list of “house keeping” items to get settled:
- Get private mail box (PMB) so I have a mailing address as I begin converting things over – $168 for the year.
- Find a good chiropractor. This is the medical care that I use regularly. My chiro back in Georgia was amazing. So again, interviewing before I have a need – $39 special for xrays, eval, and treatment plan. I won’t do the whole treatment plan, but this gave me a good feel for this particular office and I’m now comfortable having someone to call should the need arise.
- Identify a good boarding facility. I have two weekend trips planned in the coming months so I want to be prepared. It’s a lot hotter here than Georgia, so important that I tour the facilities because my dogs are definitely not used to the heat. No luck so far. And it’s soooo hot! We were truly spoiled by the two facilities back in Georgia. Highly recommend Keller Creek and Prospect Farm if you need to board your dog in NE Georgia.
- Continue to work with my dad to set a schedule and identify where he feels he needs the most help. We are getting there. I’m sure this will evolve over time.
- Get into a daily routine for work and my health. I started walking again this week. 5am every day. And my sister wants to start going to the gym together, ugh! We’ve pushed that off a couple of weeks since Princess is coming to visit next week. But when we do start, I will be going as her plus one. I’m not spending the money on a gym membership.
- Set up my office. This is a work in progress. I have a whole room, but it’s cluttered with furniture, so I’m slowly rearranging. (With my dad’s permission and support.) When I got here, he still had his Christmas tree up…that’s been taken down now. Baby steps.
- Get prescriptions transferred in order to get refills. My doctor made sure I had enough refills to get through until my return to Georgia in September when I already have a follow up visit.
- Organize my bedroom. Done!
Once I get myself organized, I will start on more organizing and purging at my parents’ house. Even now, my car is already full of a load to take to donation. This consists of things I’ve gathered in the last 6 months visits, but wanted to allow my siblings plenty of time to grab anything they wanted.
The cost of this move were minimal. But I know I will have some additional costs over the course of the year as I slowly transfer things to TX. Most will happen toward the end of the year, after the wedding which is my last planned extended trip to Georgia.
Hope is a resourceful, solutions-driven online business manager with over two decades of experience helping clients streamline operations, manage projects, and grow their businesses through digital marketing and technology.
But life has a way of rewriting your plans.
A year ago, Hope made the decision to move in with her aging parents full time – a season she wouldn’t trade, even as it came with its own financial and emotional weight. Earlier this year, she lost her mother, and is now walking the tender, disorienting path of grief while learning what “forward” looks like from here.
Hope came to the Blogging Away Debt community in 2015 as a single mom raising five foster and adoptive children. She’s written through job changes, financial setbacks, and the bittersweet transition to an empty nest. Her kids are finding their footing in the world now – and so is she.
Rooted in faith and fueled by the same perseverance she’s brought to every hard season, Hope is ready to face her finances with fresh eyes and an honest pen. She believes that clarity, courage, and community can change the trajectory of anyone’s story including her own.
She lives in Austin, TX with her dad, loves adventures with her dog Addie, and is figuring out, one step at a time, what this next chapter is meant to be.
