Spring Cleaning of the Spirit

March 23, 2008

Time to think things over. Time for renewal. Time for little green things to start to grow in my mind and heart. Spring.

I've been in Hoboken for four months. I don't think all that much about where I've been, but there were a few projects there I left incomplete. I had written a second book about Fairhope, and, unable to get a publisher, had an idea I might rewrite the first book, incorporating the best of the second book into it. It's time to run this by a couple of publishers and see if anyone is interested. Run it up the flagpole, as we used to say, and see who salutes.

Then there is the matter of selling my Fairhope house. This may take a good deal of time, years maybe, since the few buyers who are out there seem to be looking for new construction, which this one definitely isn't. I had in mind that as soon as the house sold I'd put the proceeds into a lovely condo here, but now that I think about it, that isn't such a good idea. I have to think about what kind of a person I am, and the kind of person I am is one who likes to live in different places. I may as well face it. I lived in Fairhope for 19 years, during which time I lived in six homes, one of which I built myself and left after four years. The house I landed in, the one I called "The Captain's House" (because it was built by a bay boat captain who lived in it some thirty or forty years) I sincerely thought would be my last house.

Then one day I woke up wanting to move to Hoboken.

So, there is truly no telling where I really want to live, and I'll probably need to live in several places around here before I can make that decision. No need to rush on this. Even when The Captain's House does sell, I'm better off using the money to rent a more appealing apartment than this one while I consider the place I may want to live in next. My lease is up in mid-November, and by then I'll have had plenty of time to look around. I'd just better stay away from the Open Houses for the beautiful Hoboken condos that are for sale all around me.

In the meantime, I've just got to keep body and mind together and pay my taxes.Next week I have a lot of medical appointments, and one with a tax accountant. My X-ray revealed normal bone density but some kind of injury in that shoulder that has been bothering me for months. I start physical therapy Wednesday. That same afternoon I have an appointment with the gastroenterologist about scheduling a colonoscopy. I am of an age; I've just got to get myself cleaned in every way.

In the meantime, what does all this have to do with a spring cleaning of the spirit? It's Easter, for one thing, a day when we think about the resurrection of the spirit. A day when we plan for growth in all the good ways we can. The cleaning may come later, but today is a pretty good day to start making plans.