Sell, sell, sell...

One huge advantage of telling everyone about your plans to sell everything you own, is that, those of your contacts who are interested in buying something let you know of their interest.  Those who aren't in the market personally, often tell their friends (a) because their friend is in the market to buy, or (b) they just want to pass on interesting news about someone they know who is doing something very different from the norm - especially at their age!  

From this phenomenon, I learned I had the potential to sell a number of my large items even before I returned home from Mexico - how great is that?  

My friend, Ruth, had a close friend, who had recently purchased a small house in a little town just north of me.  She needed living room furniture and was interested in seeing what I had. Because my seniors' apartment was small, I had spent several months hunting for contemporary furniture and accessories that were compatible with the size of the room. Another requisite was that the ensemble had to create a sense of spaciousness.  It had taken a lot of searching to find what I wanted and when I put the last piece in place, I was so pleased with the result I sent photographs to my family.  Therefore, I was able to forward the pictures to Ruth.  Excitedly she wrote back that her friend loved everything, she wanted to know how much was I asking for it and when she could see it.  I was returning to Collingwood April 4 so arranged a viewing for the weekend following that.

Meanwhile, my grandson texted that he wanted to buy several of my antique pieces and the lounge in  my den with the matching chair, so that took care of those items.  About a week later, he also enquired about my car - was I serious about selling it?  "Absolutely!", said I.  "I will have no use for a car after I move to Ottawa.  I'll be downtown and can walk to most things I'll need or want.  I'll use Uber when I need wheels."

A few days after this, my daughter, Dianne, was telling her hair stylist what I was planning to do.  Her stylist said she had just purchased a house in Collingwood and needed dining room furniture.  When Di described my European antique nunnery table and hand-carved chairs, her stylist was excited to see the set.  As soon as I heard this I arranged a date for her to see the set.

Wow!  I wasn't even home yet, (I had another two weeks before that trip) but I felt confident that a lot of my major items were potentially sold. This would ease some of the concern that attends the task of finding buyers/homes/charities/garbage dumps for everything one owns!

It was now getting close to Holy Week, a holiday bigger than Christmas in Mexico.  Holy Week starts on Palm Sunday and ends at Easter.  Snowbirds, who were renters, have to leave a few days prior to Holy Week so maids and gardeners can prepare the casas and condos for holidaying Mexican families to move in.  It was approaching that time and Snowbirds were beginning to return home.  Consequently there was a flurry of lunches, dinners and happy hour get togethers, to say 'adios' and get that last hug until next winter.  

I was thinking of all the wonderful friends I had in Mexico - far more than I had back home - when it suddenly hit me that, in the 22 years spent in Manzanillo, I knew no one from Ottawa. Lots of friends were from Western Canada and the U.S. and some from a number of places in Ontario, but not one from Ottawa.  How curious!  

That evening I had a strong urge to go to the beach just before dinner to sit on one of the concrete benches overlooking the ocean and watch the sunset.  There was no one on the beach or on any of the other benches when I arrived.  I was absorbed in the sound of the surf and the beautiful colours of the sky when two women, whom I hadn't met before, asked if they could sit beside me.  I was a little startled - there were a lot of empty benches beside me - but I smiled and welcomed them.  We began to talk and eventually, as always happens when meeting someone for the first time, the question, "Where are you from?", came up.  Both were from Ottawa!!!  It turned out that they were also widows but somewhat younger than me.  We promised to meet again before they left, which was in less than a week, and to get together in Ottawa.  I now had two people in Ottawa to get to know better.  They seemed like they were sincere and fun loving and I was sure we would become friends.

Four days before I was to leave, another friend said she wanted to introduce me to an artist from Ottawa!  It wasn't until the eve of my trip home that she could arrange a meeting at the artist’s beautiful penthouse condo.  My friend and I were invited for drinks and snacks, that turned into a delicious dinner (the artist is also a great cook!) and I now have an exciting couple to get together with in Canada.

I had gone from knowing no one in Ottawa, except my daughter and a couple of her friends, to having four new friends of my own to get to know better over the summer.  Another unexpected piece of good fortune that seemed to just fall into place, like 'it was meant to be'.    I took it as affirmation that my spontaneous decision to upend my life was the right one for me.

(to be continued Sunday, June 4, 2023)