Donna Highfill
  • Home
  • About
    • About Donna
    • What People Are Saying
    • My Other Blogs
      • Dame Nation Blog
      • Huffington Post
  • Services
    • Power Up BUSINESS
    • Coaching
  • Books and Tools
  • Blog
    • Fave Products
  • Contact Me

Goodnight, House

Donna HighfillBlog10 commentsMay 5, 2016

We did it. We downsized, moved out of our home, and moved our son into an apartment — all in thirty days.

Due to the significant loss of space that accompanied our downsizing, we harshly assessed the incumbent furniture and dispatched 40% to an auction house. We donated a treadmill to the fitness room of a local company, a couch to my son, a television to a furniture delivery man in lieu of a tip, and a recliner to my cable connect guy.

You might have seen me at the local dump unloading enough books to start a library. You might also have seen my husband and me trying to swing a small refrigerator into a dumpster. We looked a lot like Lucy and Ethel, losing our grip and almost landing it right into the back of our car.

For several weeks, my son wasn’t allowed to leave the house without an armful of something . . .

I’m pretty sure that he eventually changed his cell phone number and had plastic surgery so I wouldn’t recognize him in public.

My daughter flew in the night before the move and kept me from melting into a puddle of hysteria. We slept for two hours the night before the move, then found energy in the obvious — energy drinks — and kept going.

The movers arrived at 6:30 a.m. along with the rain, and we started a four-and-a-half hour marathon of constant movement. Every time I thought a room was clean, something else popped up. I swear the floors were producing dirt, dust, and small items on their own.

I vacillated between joking around and speaking in a voice only dogs can hear. At certain points I became statue-like, frozen in a place of indecision. My daughter would stand behind me and say, “Keep moving, mom.” She was the Dorothy to my Tinman.

The new owner showed up with his realtor once his sale closed, and I found them walking around upstairs. I’m sure by that point the frizz in my hair and the wild look in my eye made me look like Phyllis Diller without all the laughter.

Finally, we swept out the house and said goodbye to our home. . .

I took a pottery dish made by the Pamunkey Indians and left it in the woods at the site of my cat’s grave, feeling that it belonged there.

I said goodbye to my cat, whose ghost whispered “Your husband ran over me in the driveway, and all I get is this lousy pottery?”

I went to the mortgage closer to get papers signed, only to find out that the incorrect papers were sent and the money wasn’t wired. I sat there in my husband’s jacket, an old shirt I found in the closet that morning, dirty jeans and even dirtier shoes. I had dust in my hair and dirt under my fingernails.

The attorney handling the close kept making excuses to leave the room.

Eventually things worked out, and by early evening our movers said, “We’re done!” Lovelier words were never spoken, but my achilles tendon didn’t realize this was a good moment.

My sister led a Cavalry charge . . .

Just like out of an old Western, she showed up the next morning with fresh Krispy Kreme doughnuts, homemade chocolate chip cookies, and chicken soup made from scratch. She also brought her very hardy and hard-working family. They installed ceiling fans, televisions, and hung curtains. They were tireless.

The rest of the weekend was constant work – a weird dance between the new house, target, and dumpsters. I did a fierce tango with the furniture company who said their truck broke down and they would not be able to deliver my furniture for a week.

Since no resolutions were offered on the phone, my retorts began to make Regan in The Exorcist look like Miss Manners. My daughter said I actually cackled once, something she’d never heard outside of The Wizard of Oz.

Eventually the furniture made it to the house. By the following Tuesday.

Was it worth it?

Absolutely. I love this house.

Could I do it again? If I had to, but not a second before.

What would I recommend? Lots of drugs. Valium. Klonopin. Prozac. I would NOT recommend energy drinks.

Do I think my family is amazing? Yes, yes I do.

Am I upset about downsizing? Absolutely not. The less stuff, the lighter my load.

Although I’m spending a lot of time at Target burdening myself again.

Tags: Change, donna highfill, inspiration, motivation, Stories

Related Articles

3 Messages You Should Stop Giving Yourself

September 10, 2014Donna Highfill

How to Change: Taking Baby Steps Out of the Social Self

September 18, 2012Andrew

Change 7: Change is Inevitable

September 15, 2010Andrew

10 comments. Leave new

Pat Lewis
May 6, 2016 1:59 am

Amazing, just amazing – I don’t know how you did it, but glad it’s behind you!

Reply
Donna Highfill
May 6, 2016 2:05 pm

Pat: I’m not sure how I did it either, but I know I couldn’t have done it without your support. Thank you! Now I’m just immensely grateful for the normal parts of a day, with no financial requests or deadlines missed or moments of panic. I’m done. They’ll have to pry my fingers off this house to get me to leave it :).

Reply
Kim Tackett
May 6, 2016 2:23 pm

Congratulations. I’m eager to hear how it feels to be in a smaller space.

Reply
Donna Highfill
May 6, 2016 2:53 pm

You know, I thought it would be really difficult and take months of adjustment – but it wasn’t and it hasn’t. We’re still waiting for that “feels like home” thing that will take a while, but the smaller space is a relief. We’re getting out more because there’s less to worry about at the house. Others have hated downsizing, but I guess I’ve always preferred smaller spaces. Probably comes from growing up without much money and having a happy family of five in 800 square foot houses :).

Reply
Pat
May 6, 2016 4:17 pm

Hope you new home will be filled with as many happy memories as your old one.

Reply
Donna Highfill
May 6, 2016 4:49 pm

Thank you, Pat!

Reply
Alana
May 6, 2016 10:06 pm

My husband and I (with some help from relatives and yes, paid help) downsized my mother in law (late 80’s) but not in 30 days. Time was of the essence due to her heath, though. She could no longer handle the house she had lived in for over 50 years. What an ordeal it was, so I have some idea of what you went through. Now I hope I have the strength to downsize myself before my son has to do it for me.

Reply
Donna Highfill
May 11, 2016 6:16 pm

Do it when you’re ready, Alana. I tried for 3 years before I finally said, “Okay, it’s time.” And it was. 🙂

Reply
Sande
May 11, 2016 2:18 pm

Best blog ever! So vivid and yet hilarious. Congrats!

Reply
Donna Highfill
May 11, 2016 6:15 pm

Thank you, Sande!

Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Learn How to Tell a Better Story and Achieve Success!

Sign up below to receive 48 FREE Energizing Messages.

Connect with Me

Email
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Pinterest

Recent Posts

  • A Cab Driver Who Appeared as if from Nowhere
  • Here’s Some Honesty For You
  • Laughter is My Hero
  • A New Year in Old Clothes
  • Why I Will Face the Fall

CHECK OUT MY BOOK

highfillcover

As a leader, do you implement change only to watch the projects, processes and initiatives stall because you can’t get the people driving them to change? In my new book Real People, Real Change: Stories of a Change Warrior in the Business World I share real stories to illustrate how leaders can move people to action.

Archives

Where Donna Will Be Speaking Next

  • April 22, 2015 - SunTrust Women's Networking Group
  • April 23, 2015 - SunTrust Women's Networking Group
  • May 12, 2015 - LPGA Championship, Kingsmill, Williamsburg VA
  • May 21, 2015 - Education Association of Fundraising Professionals, Eerie, PA

Certified_hi-res

mbti_certified
huffbadge

Learn How to Tell a Better Story and Achieve Success!

Sign up below to receive 48 FREE Energizing Messages.

Recent Posts

  • A Cab Driver Who Appeared as if from Nowhere August 9, 2017
  • Here’s Some Honesty For You March 16, 2017
  • Laughter is My Hero January 10, 2017

Contact Me

804-370-6665
[email protected]
  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Copyright
  • About Donna
  • Contact Me
Copyright Donna Highfill 2014