The past several months have been full of Don’t Get Me Started moments, they just aren’t related to education. This Tumblr has not been at the forefront of my thoughts. 

I retired after 35 years as a high school social studies teacher, a career which I thoroughly enjoyed. My children are grown, two are married, and none live near me. My wife and I had long planned to move to Florida upon retirement and escape the long, dreary winters of Northeast Ohio. 

We spent the past year investigating areas along the western coast of Florida, finally deciding on a small town (Apollo Beach) on Tampa Bay. We looked at existing houses, then decided to build (my wife is a decorator/designer and loves doing this). 

In the meantime, in December, we decided to throw up a For Sale By Owner sign and test the market. We figured if we didn’t sell by the time our new house was ready, we would move and turn things over to a realtor. In March, one of my former colleagues sent his sister and her husband over to look at our house. They had just sold their condominium and had to move out by the end of May. 

Long story short, we sold them the house and spent two hectic months sorting through 19 years of the stuff which a family accumulates. We made three piles (keep, pitch, sell). We began packing our own boxes, had a garage sale, and made many trips to Goodwill, Volunteers of America, and Purple Hearts Veterans. I never realized how the market for old CRT televisions has collapsed. No one wants them anymore., and I had four to get rid of.

We are now in a rental in Ruskin, Florida, waiting for our house to be finished sometime in September. Our things area in storage, I’m told they are in Chicago, and we feel like vacationers (which I must admit isn’t so bad). We have three pools, a restaurant/tiki bar, an exercise room, and a private beach. Once we unwind, I think life will be good this summer after ( oh yes, we have a daughter getting married in Pennsylvania this weekend) the chaos subsides.