For Sale - A New Chapter - December 6, 2024

After only two and a half years, our beach house is on the market.  I can’t say I didn’t want it to happen, but I can’t say I DID want it to happen either.  It feels like a big dream is dying, but on the other hand, a relief that a major stressor in my life may soon be gone.  I think the word I am looking for is bittersweet.

Ever since my childhood feet stepped on the sands of the Jersey Shore, I’ve harbored the dream of owning a beach house.  It only took me fifty plus years to get there, but I did get there!  Some people never get to achieve their dreams, but I am fortunate to be one of the lucky ones.  One of the biggest reasons for purchasing the home at this stage in my life is that it accommodated my health.*  I was able to take one plane flight and stay put for a few months.  If I was not doing well, all I had to do was look out a window and see the ocean to infinity.  Or, take a few steps off my back deck and my toes were on sand.  It was truly a wonderful gift. 

Unfortunately, the stresses of owning and renting the home (plus 4 hurricanes!) have been more than we bargained for.  What was hoped to be enjoyable and simple, wasn’t.  It’s time to let go.  It’s time for a new chapter.

Embarking on a new path can be scary. But it can also be the start of something wonderful.  Sometimes God moves things out of our way to prepare us for something better.  Sometimes, He steps in because we haven’t figured out how to move things ourselves and He knows we need help.    Maybe you are on the brink of a new phase in your life.  Maybe you are scared.  Or maybe you are sad because you lost something (like a dream) or you lost someone.  Whatever it is, be assured God is right there in the middle of it, fulfilling His promises for your life. 

“Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it?” Lamentations 3:37

When the house sells (and let’s hope it does!), I won’t lament the loss for too long, for I know the Lord knows best.  I can look back and know that some pretty amazing things happened at this house.  I proved to myself that I was strong enough to purchase, renovate and decorate an oceanfront beach house 1200 miles away. I had renters in my house touching and often ruining (!) many of my things and I survived. Barely!  I got used to the fact that renters pay no attention to rules and do whatever they want.  I now know what an astronomical tax bill looks like and a warning notice for guests violating the "turtle season" regulations. I supervised the front yard demolition and the installation of a new septic system.  Goodbye lovely palm trees!

Joyous times were many.  Who can say they have been lulled to sleep by the waves and awakened by seagulls, not just for a week’s vacation, but for three months at a time?  I’ve beach walked so much; the sandpipers know my name.  My Canon has taken an abundance of sunset photos; it’s as if the sky waits for me to arrive before splattering its colors in the sky.  And the dolphins…I’m pretty sure they put on a show just because they know I am sitting in my Adirondack chair on the back deck watching. 

Best of all, I believe I have achieved the rank of Captain of the Shell Hunters.  I am a woman on a mission daily and have collected over 200 conchs and whelks.  Poor things.  They didn’t know many of them would be leaving the temperate Florida shore for a back porch ledge in New Hampshire. 

“It is perhaps a more fortunate destiny to have a taste for collecting shells than to be born a millionaire.” – R.L. Stevenson

If all goes to plan, and that is always an ‘if,” we will be arriving at the house for one last time in early January and will hope to stay until early March.  It’s always an adventure.  I embrace it with my arms and my heart wide open, knowing that with God, all things work together for good.

*For background on my health condition, (Central Sensitization Syndrome) see previous post on November 12, 2021, titled, "Three Years Ago Today." In addition to CSS, my diagnoses include Fibromyalgia, Osteoarthritis, Hashimotos Thyroiditis, Severe spinal disk degeneration, bilateral hip replacement complications, small fiber neuropathy, Burning Mouth Syndrome, Occipital Neuralgia and Osteoporosis.