NEW YEARS 2020 - Cheers!

"...Time flies.  And I'll be sitting here in front of my screen writing my next New Year's letter before I know it!"  That's what I wrote on December 31, 2018, and here we are on the brink of another new year and a new decade.  (Being born in 1950 makes the decade changes doubly significant!) 

2019 wasn't as big a year of change for me as 2018, but it was a year of progress and satisfaction.  Personally it was a calm and quiet year--which is always good.  My parents celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary!  The kids had a busy year of work and play.  My buddy, Sadie, is a year older and mellower.  And I'm very pleased with what was accomplished on my building project--which continues to consume my life.  So life is good.

On what has become my 5-year relocation plan, 2020 is the fifth and final year!  Everyone seems quite certain I'll be in my house by the end of the year.  I've given up on a late summer move-in and having time to do a big Christmas comfortably.  I'll be happy to be in by late fall--and settled by Christmas.  Settled being the operative word!  I am getting tired of my transitory and makeshift life.  I'm ready to locate that pair of shoes, cook a full meal, and sleep in my real bed.  And I'm eager to establish a normal routine in my life once again.

I know there will be a direct correlation between being settled in my new home and feeling well-rooted in Portland.  Even though I've been living here for nearly two years and feel quite familiar and comfortable with the area now, I've been immersed in building the whole time.  When I'm finally living in this house, my horizons will broaden.  I think then, Portland will start to really feel like home.

But in the meantime, I have a lot to do!  2020 will be a very busy year for me.  All my deliberations (lighting, plumbing, appliances, floor, wall and counter coverings, etc.) need to become actual decisions and purchases.  All the cabinetry and finish work will need my attention.  And there seem to be miscellaneous questions and things to reconsider almost daily.  I won't be taking any extended trips this year--I need to be available, and concentrate all my energies on getting this house complete!

So here's to a productive year ahead!  I'll try to live in the present this year--but it'll be hard not to focus on the home at the end of the 2020 tunnel!