I apologize to everyone waiting on pins and needles for my next blog. Okay, that was a gross exaggeration of the facts, but I genuinely apologize to those waiting for my blog. I had no computer from July 1st through July 14th as my computer did not get hooked up until then. This move has been, at times, silky smooth, while other times, it has been more chaotic than a kindergarten class hopped up on sugar. Nevertheless, I have some great blogs in mind and hope I can put them down on paper correctly and make sense of all this moving mayhem. 

Relocation frustration…

When you read this blog series about my move, things may sound unorganized and generally discombobulated. I wrote it that way because that is how things seemed to me when I was living it. Everything felt like I was being sprayed full blast with a garden hose, and someone was waving their hand in front of the water. This action meant that I occasionally got a split-second reprieve from the onslaught of water, allowing enough time for a quick breath. Also, if you did not know, the stress of MS can and often does affect the brain in various ways, causing slow thinking, brain fog, and common cognitive concerns. So here is my battle with the brutal brain beast as it battles my brain, body, and fortitude during my relocation transformation.

I packed my belongings with plans to move to Florida, transitioning sometime in October or November. However, I did not expect things to happen so quickly, but to paraphrase Marlon Brando, it was an offer I could not refuse. I found a house close to my family, and I am remodeling it as you read this to make it wheelchair accessible. I will begin my life in Florida soon after the house gets completed in late June or early July. Do I think this move will solve all the problems in my life? Of course not; it will probably even create a few issues. However, there are more activities per square mile without hunting for them, like in my current city, Columbus, Ohio. Therefore, this move will make it much easier to be involved in plenty of activities, and there will constantly be people around.

Let me fervently point out once again how stress and multiple sclerosis are mortal enemies causing havoc in the MSer’s body. Everything seemed to happen to me all at once, causing my head to spin like a top on a record player. First, I was trying to close on the mortgage in Florida, getting all the paperwork assembled while making plenty of phone calls. Next, I tried to gain a home equity line of credit on my Grove City house to help me afford the modifications to my new house. Finally, I was attempting to schedule the men to start the work as soon as I signed the HELOC paperwork.

Keep in mind that I am doing all of this from a thousand miles away, although my mom is helping me orchestrate the Florida work. I feel like I am juggling Vaseline-coated eels to make the house move-in ready as early as possible. I realize I am incredibly fortunate as things in the universe have aligned perfectly, allowing me things others can ill afford. However, someone reminded me I should not apologize for my good fortune because I have been on the giving end many times.

This undertaking will be a timing thing, as I need the HELOC to be ready when they work on the house. Yet, everything is now frozen in motion because my mortgage company in Grove City dropped the ball. When I was waiting for the paperwork to go through on the HELOC, the banker emailed me with bad news. She told me they could not complete the loan until I paid my property taxes and brought them up to date. 

I quickly called my mortgage company to clear up my confusion when I received this questionable claim. They apologetically explained my refinance happened the exact day my taxes were due. This stressful situation made everyone think someone else paid my taxes when no one actually did. These are not merely bumps in the road but rumble strips from the freeway, causing chaotic concerns and making everything more stressful.

One step forward and two steps back is the typical quote we all hear and know. However, this statement seems to have been confirmed in the beginning half of my turbulent transition as things continued to move back and forth between positive and negative. I am a thinker and a planner and repeatedly check my list like Santa Claus, making sure I dot my I’s and cross my T’s. Yet, I fear faltering by forgetting and fumbling as things have been fast-moving, forcing foul falsehoods.

More to come to my scary saga.