A picture of places past. Where will these feet land next?
The email notice came the day before Valentine’s day, in between the Zumba classes I teach on a nearby island (Guemes Island) and a nearby town (Mt. Vernon): We were given until May 1 to move out of our current home, or sign a one year lease and pay a “fair market value” rent $500 over what we are paying. It seems that, after our landlady read a recent post about our trying to create a warmer, more affordable home, she had put some thought into this, and decided it was time to facilitate our transition.
So here we are, creating in earnest a new place to live in a town which has seen crazy growth. Home and rental price increases have already forced a number of long time residents to move elsewhere.
Some of you may know that we seem to be the couple-who-pulls-miracles-out-of-thin-air: Almost 6 years ago, we found ourselves in debt for various reasons including investments gone bad and huge medical bills. We went on a country-wide journey to find a new, more affordable community, only to return to our beloved Pacific Northwest region. The rest of that story involved my sweetheart’s medical crises of cardiac arrest and stroke and our move to our present hometown of Anacortes, WA. Miracle after miracle has led Jim to his healing, and I love living and working out of our current home.
Now it’s time to create anew. Ideas have sailed in from all over—please keep ‘em coming. And I’ve already explored options that haven't panned out, including...
A (sort of) funny thing happened on my way to creating a new home:
After the news of our imminent departure from our current home, a friend suggested I look into "senior housing" apartments for folks 55 and over. So I found one online in Mount Vernon, and drove there between Zumba classes.
There was no parking for visitors except for one already occupied slot, so I parked on the adjacent street and walked up to the large building, trying my best to have an open mind. Entering an entryway, the door to the lobby was locked, and one had to call and be buzzed in by the either manager or a resident. But there was a clear view into the lobby and the recreation room.
While the manager’s phone rang and rang, I looked at the Valentine’s Day party going on in the rec room, and saw a bunch of elderly people milling around. Honestly, my reaction was kind of violent: I thought, "I AM NOT READY TO BE OLD!" It’s interesting, even though my mom lives in such a community, and happily moved there when she was a bit above my current age, and though I lived in Florida—home of senior living communities all over the place, I’ve never ever seen myself living in one. Ever. So that helped me focus. I now know more about what I am not creating, and what I am: I love diversity and kids in the neighborhood.
Meanwhile, I've envisioned these as possibilities: We will continue to live in a vibrant beautiful community where there is diversity and great local shops and restaurants and a farmer's market. My workplace is in this wonderful home, and there is plenty of room to welcome guests and family.
I’ve also had this vision for quite some time--I call it an urban retreat: Someone will invest in a home that has separate space to rent out to mainly Guemes Island folks who need a place to stay occasionally. The Island ferry’s last run is at 8:30 PM on week days, and sometimes there is a need to stay on this side of the channel for all sorts of reasons. The extra space could also be an occasional air bnb, and would be open to rent by people from around the world who will visit with me for spiritual healing work and workshops. We would manage that space, and pay a rent we can afford.
Right now, this is yet to be seen and created. And maybe because I am currently sick with bronchitis, I'm having what I call my “human moments” when panic arises, and I go to dark places in my mind: Can we pull off yet another miracle in our long sojourn to find our permanent home? Or will we end up…. ? Well, I don't know what the alternative to the miracle is. So we go for it one more time.
Thanks for your love and support and prayers. Ideas welcome.
And: In order to celebrate the coming miracle, I am offering a discount on in-office energy healing and spiritual counseling sessions: usually $80/hour—now $50/hour; as well as Aura Portrait sessions for $90. Month of March only because…
I hope to pull off the New Home Easter Miracle by April, which will include a new office. :-)
Blessings, Elke
PS: See my activity page for the specials: https://elkespage.com/education/
And you can find our journey to Anacortes through foreclosure and Jim's medical crisis in this eBook: https://www.amazon.com/Notes-Road-Life-Spritual-Travails-ebook/dp/B00D9BGX5S