A year ago on November 28th my DH and I moved to Florida. My son was suppose to stay for a month or so but he loves it down here and is still with us. Here is a trip report of sorts. Really, the ultimate trip report on leaving everything I ever knew and starting over.
I really dont know when my dream of living in Florida started. Maybe in 1986, the first time I went to WDW. Or maybe it was long before that when I spent some time in Ft. Lauderdale as a young woman in my early 20s. Whenever it happened, I know that I have wanted to live in the Sunshine State for a very long time but things were never just right.
My DH and I almost moved in 2001 but family problems kept us in Massachusetts. I even went so far as looking for houses during the trip I took in September of that year. Then my mothers advanced age and health issues kept us in Massachusetts. When she passed away in 2004, I told my DH it was now or never. His health had deteriorated to the point where everything that would be happening from getting the house ready for sale, to packing things up to setting up a trip to look for and buy a house in Florida would be up to me. Truth be told, I aint getting any younger either.
We were very lucky to find a wonderful Realtor who went above and beyond. In 7 days we looked, found a home, signed papers and had the house inspected. When we returned to Massachusetts, we had about 2 weeks to finish everything up so we could move on November 28th.
I was running on pure adrenalin at this point. First, all of New England was still trying to get over the sleep deprived month of October. Red Sox fever had taken control of nearly every aspect of our lives for about 3 weeks. Even into November, people still werent quite right!
Add on to that the dynamics of moving 1200 miles, worrying about getting my 16 cats driven down to Florida, worrying about my son and my stepson driving said cats to Florida and freaking out that thered be a blizzard or some sort of terrible weather event that would throw a monkey wrench into the whole thing and, lets just say, I was totally stressed.
What did happened was DH and I got down here without a hitch, son and stepson arrived 2 days later with the cats and had mostly good weather for their nearly non-stop ride of 28 hours. There was no blizzard... at least not during the time they were on the road. New England saw 24 snow storms after we were all moved in.
For three days we slept on inflatable mattresses and sat in patio furniture. We mostly ate out or had sandwiches. The movers arrived on the third day just as the sun was going down.
The company we used seemed to be OK. A representative came out to see what we had, quoted us a price that would not be changed even if his estimate of the weight was off and made notes for the people who would be doing the moving about the street we were on (quite busy) and the best way to access our home. On paper it looked good.
When the day of the move came, my highest priority was to gather up all the cats and get them out on the back porch. All our cats are indoor animals so if they got spooked by the movers and were able to escape, it would be a disaster. I was doing OK and had most of them out on the porch when the movers arrived. Down to the last cat, Mom Cat, I was saving the worst for last. She was our newest animal and to say she didnt like to be picked up would be an understatement. The movers were waiting on me and I felt really pressed for time so I threw caution to the wind. She reverted back to the beast she was when we first brought her in the house and gored me. Were not talking about scratches. Were talking wounds I should have had sutured.
I dont cry easy but in front of the movers and my family I sat on the floor and sobbed. Of course it wasnt just the pain from what the cat did but the worry and the fatigue of many, many days of endless labor. Finally I got myself together and we got Mom Cat out on the back porch.
The next day my best friend and her husband drove us to the shuttle that would take us to the airport. I cried all the way to Logan. It was finally hitting me that I was leaving my home of 56 years to live in a place I basically knew nothing about. I didnt know when or if I would ever get back to Massachusetts.
Part 2 coming soon.
I really dont know when my dream of living in Florida started. Maybe in 1986, the first time I went to WDW. Or maybe it was long before that when I spent some time in Ft. Lauderdale as a young woman in my early 20s. Whenever it happened, I know that I have wanted to live in the Sunshine State for a very long time but things were never just right.
My DH and I almost moved in 2001 but family problems kept us in Massachusetts. I even went so far as looking for houses during the trip I took in September of that year. Then my mothers advanced age and health issues kept us in Massachusetts. When she passed away in 2004, I told my DH it was now or never. His health had deteriorated to the point where everything that would be happening from getting the house ready for sale, to packing things up to setting up a trip to look for and buy a house in Florida would be up to me. Truth be told, I aint getting any younger either.
We were very lucky to find a wonderful Realtor who went above and beyond. In 7 days we looked, found a home, signed papers and had the house inspected. When we returned to Massachusetts, we had about 2 weeks to finish everything up so we could move on November 28th.
I was running on pure adrenalin at this point. First, all of New England was still trying to get over the sleep deprived month of October. Red Sox fever had taken control of nearly every aspect of our lives for about 3 weeks. Even into November, people still werent quite right!
Add on to that the dynamics of moving 1200 miles, worrying about getting my 16 cats driven down to Florida, worrying about my son and my stepson driving said cats to Florida and freaking out that thered be a blizzard or some sort of terrible weather event that would throw a monkey wrench into the whole thing and, lets just say, I was totally stressed.
What did happened was DH and I got down here without a hitch, son and stepson arrived 2 days later with the cats and had mostly good weather for their nearly non-stop ride of 28 hours. There was no blizzard... at least not during the time they were on the road. New England saw 24 snow storms after we were all moved in.
For three days we slept on inflatable mattresses and sat in patio furniture. We mostly ate out or had sandwiches. The movers arrived on the third day just as the sun was going down.
The company we used seemed to be OK. A representative came out to see what we had, quoted us a price that would not be changed even if his estimate of the weight was off and made notes for the people who would be doing the moving about the street we were on (quite busy) and the best way to access our home. On paper it looked good.
When the day of the move came, my highest priority was to gather up all the cats and get them out on the back porch. All our cats are indoor animals so if they got spooked by the movers and were able to escape, it would be a disaster. I was doing OK and had most of them out on the porch when the movers arrived. Down to the last cat, Mom Cat, I was saving the worst for last. She was our newest animal and to say she didnt like to be picked up would be an understatement. The movers were waiting on me and I felt really pressed for time so I threw caution to the wind. She reverted back to the beast she was when we first brought her in the house and gored me. Were not talking about scratches. Were talking wounds I should have had sutured.
I dont cry easy but in front of the movers and my family I sat on the floor and sobbed. Of course it wasnt just the pain from what the cat did but the worry and the fatigue of many, many days of endless labor. Finally I got myself together and we got Mom Cat out on the back porch.
The next day my best friend and her husband drove us to the shuttle that would take us to the airport. I cried all the way to Logan. It was finally hitting me that I was leaving my home of 56 years to live in a place I basically knew nothing about. I didnt know when or if I would ever get back to Massachusetts.
Part 2 coming soon.
. And wow! 16 inside kitties 
??
They are beautiful cats and they're lucky to have such a loving, caring owner. I wish more people were as responisble as you are when it comes to pet care. 
