OUR SOUTHERN EXIT: Leaving Louisiana – Pt. 7
September-October 2022: Our journey out of southeast Louisiana after living there as a transplant for 15 years.
I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying!
By September 13, I was in the air again. After getting some of our house unpacked after the fire and the master closet and kitchen organized so my husband could function, it was time for me to fly back to Louisiana to close down my business and drive my cargo van back to our new home 2,400 miles away.
There were a handful of client projects to finish up. One would take longer due to various delays. I would end up flying back at a later date to finish that home.
Site visits at Trent Jones Drive.
Choose exterior colors for #sonsvintagedigs.
Have my van re-wrapped with new logo and branding colors.
Ordered my favorite foods one more time: Smith Fries, Nick’s Pizza, Lemonade Pie, Beignets.
Because I wouldn’t be renting a shop in Eastern Washington right away, I needed to get rid of my remaining inventory and extra supplies. Brooke, Rachel and Jenni helped me separate and pack what still needed to be shipped home and what needed to be sold (ugh -- no photos of us). Then, I started posting a ton of items for sale on my personal Instagram account for local pick up only. Initially, I thought it would be a waste of time and no one would want anything. Within a few days, I was proven wrong. And it snowballed! I can’t express how touching it was to be able to say good-bye in person to so many people who had been a part of our lives for 15 years. Life had been non-stop since January and I just wasn’t able to carve out time to say my good-byes. Pathetic excuse, I know.
We packed and loaded the rest of our belongings that were being stored at the shop I rented. Cowboy from Move It Or Lose It loaded up the final two U-Boxes so they could be hauled to the Tri-Cities. It all just fit!
The story of getting this shop rental is one of my favorites. It will always be a reminder of how God provided during a tough time and exceeded anything I could have imagined. If you are interested, you can start that journey here. If it weren’t for that shop and my wonderful landlords, I don’t know what I would be doing right now. Shutting the door for the last time was filled with mixed emotions for me. Some chapters are sad to close even if you are excited about starting the next one.
The highlight of this trip was definitely hanging out with my son most evenings in his new house.
His imposed work curfew actually helped me stay focused and on task (well, mostly) since I tend to be a workaholic, especially when he still has household projects for me to tackle! He did relish this opportunity to ban me from wearing shoes beyond his entryway. And if I stayed up later than him, I’d have to deal with Beskar (his cat) and we all know I’m not doing that! Going out for beignets is a tradition we started at the end of his first school year in Louisiana, so it was fitting that he took me out for beignets once before I left. Good-byes are tough. So, I’ll end it here and pick up next time with my northward trek.
