Month: July 2026

Lorena and I plan to spend most of the weekend packing and throwing away stuff to get ready for the move at the end of July. We have downsized an amount I never would have imagined possible already and have decided to do a ton more. The goal is to get all of our worldly goods into a 26 foot moving truck, the Honda CRV, and Christian’s Acura sedan. Granted, there is not much room in those last two vehicles, but every bit helps. We are donating all our beds and frames (who knows whether they will take the mattresses, but we will throw them away if they are not accepted), a bunch of end tables, all the patio furniture, table lamps, the sofa and recliner from the living room, and anything else we think we do not need or want for the new house. We are gifting a bunch of large planters and a metal garage rack to our neighbors. Hopefully, we will have most of the packing done by the end of next week.

As we are packing things and working our way through the or checklists for the sale of the house and the move to Texas, it has dawned on Lorena and I that there is some likelihood we might never return to Virginia. Maybe we will pass through on a trip to somewhere else, but we have no real reason to return. It has been a lovely place to live. The people and culture in this part of Virginia seem genuinely nice and welcoming. Maybe if I were younger it might be different, but our plans are mostly to spend as much time as we can with Lorena’s mother, Conchita and our children. The kids both currently live in New York City and Grandma Conchita is in Mexico. Beyond that, our main destination will hopefully be to Oregon to visit my siblings and friends. This is not a sad thing. We love Virginia, but are happy to be moving on to the next thing, God willing.