Literary Love

It’s Done Last month, my husband and I successfully sold our home of 37-plus years. I’d heard hair-raising stories of closings that went wrong, but thankfully, our closing went smoothly. The weeks leading up to the closing, however, were anything but. We secured our house’s elusive Certificate of Occupancy, but the buyer’s title company disputed the property lines, putting us under a tight deadline to talk to and secure notarized affidavits from neighbors bordering our property. Though we moved into our new apartment, we had to return to the house to shower and cook for two weeks while we chased after the gas utility company to turn on our service. Emptying the rooms, deciding what to part with, what to save, and  getting rid of stuff  was both physically and emotionally taxing. And we’d forgotten about a small attic! Our adult son and his large, older dog, Winston, were still living in the house, sleeping on a blowup mattress, basically squatting amongst the unwanted remains,...