²⁷And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?  ³¹Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ ³² …Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³⁴“So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.  (Matthew 6:27, 31—32, 34)

After seeking advice and counsel and deciding that life is too short to live apart for very long, Paul and I have put our Park Ridge condo up for sale.

Area realtors are being invited to tour the condo today (July 18).  It’s been priced to sell, although it will likely take three or four months to complete the sale. We’ll make use of this time to figure out what will fit in our Johnson Creek apartment, find storage for “keep” stuff and donate or sell the rest. The condo will be Paul’s home base during this transition time; he’ll drive up for weekends.

Check out the “condo for sale” Web page that Paul created (http://sue.edison-swift.com/911busse/). It includes photos and a video tour of the condo along with the floor plan and features.

I’ll finish my contract project with Bethesda on July 29 and finish physical therapy on August 4. On August 5, we’ll start moving in to the Johnson Creek apartment, which is 15–20 minutes from Bethesda. On August 12, Annie and Sean will celebrate their fifth anniversary. Paul and I will celebrate 35 years of hyphenated life on August 14. On August 15, I report for my first official day as Corporate Director of Marketing and Communications.

In 1988, we moved from progressive Madison to conservative Park Ridge. I predicted that I could live here 30 years and still feel like an outsider. I’m glad I didn’t put money on that. I have deep ties to St. Luke’s, our congregation, especially the Chancel choir. After 22 years, there’s a part of my identity that will always be named “ELCA Churchwide Office.” And, there are dear, dear friends that will always have a part of my heart.  Older and wiser, I know that as I move to Watertown, I will find community and develop a loyal identity as a Bethesda Lutheran Communities staff person. Indeed, I told Laura Reilly, my new boss, that as my first anniversary approaches, I want people to say “You’ve only been here a year? It seems like you’ve been at Bethesda forever.”

In 1999, we downsized when we sold our home on Lincoln Ave. and moved 1 ½ blocks to Delphia Ave. In 2005, we downsized when we sold the house on Delphia and moved to the condo. This move is going to test our imaginations and remind us that “things are just things.” I’m encouraged by hearing both daughter Annie and Izetta (our realtor) affirm that we turn every place we’ve lived in to our home. Annie calls it “Edison-Swiftizing.”

There are more questions, of course, like “After Paul moves to Wisconsin, where will he work?” That’s a worry for tomorrow.

Transition mercies,
Sue Edison-Swift
7/18/2011