First things first

The first order of business, of course, is to pack. When you are on the run, the where is of little consequence so long as the there is not here.

Packing is easier said that done. We have a 4,000 square foot loft full of things, many of which are still in boxes that have hardly recovered from their August rescue. We had left all of our music, our books, our furniture and untold junk in Las Vegas two lifetimes ago, unable as we were at the time to afford the cross country move. We took what would fit in our compact car and left without looking back until just two months ago. Doing without it all for so long has taught us what we truly can and cannot do without. I have learned which CDs and books I missed the most, for instance, and have also learned that if I'd forgotten about it, I truly wouldn't miss it.

This evening, we began pulling the boxes out and sorting their contents, throwing things into a freshly emptied and pilfered US Mail sorting bin that can be sold in order to finance our escape. I have no idea how long it will take us to divide and conquer our possessions. What we do keep, we have vowed, will be those things that are precious to us, that we will want to have near to us when we finally rid ourselves of the curse of wanderlust and settle down. We intend to rent some kind of storage facility and pack only what we can carry for the journey.

There are so many things still to do before we can leave but I hope that once we shuffle off the burden of ownership, we will then be light enough to move with ease.