It’s the mid-point of my Massachusetts visit to transition my dad to his new digs up the street at the nice senior living facility in Chelmsford and everything is going pretty much according to plan. Even though Dad’s present life and world isn’t a large and complicated one, there has still been a lot to coordinate and make preparation for ahead of the big move.

Last Friday we spent the morning dropping his car of at the car place for the final repairs needed before it gets turned in to the Volkswagen folks next week in order to end of car ownership and driving – something I’m sure his fellow Massachusetts motorists will approve of. The afternoon was taken up making all the necessary calls and paperwork needed to redirect his monthly pension, social security, and annuity payouts to his new checking account.

Last Saturday, my brother Dave and I cleared out the storage bin in the attic and bringing a bunch of stuff to the church consignment store. We then went over to the new apartment with a tape measure in order to finalize the furniture placement, then picked up some new items he will need at a local K Mart that had only three other people shopping in it. Very strange to see a department store such a shell of its former self.

Sunday was a well-deserved day of rest, a day for family stuff and planning the next day’s activities out. We met an old friend of his from high school and learned that the very first girl I fell in love with back when I was fifteen, a lovely, quiet, long-haired girl whom I would ride my bike over to visit in the hope that I’d see her was now thrice-married and a sociopath. That night, talking over a bowl of ice cream, I noticed for the first tine the apartment had a bit of an echo in it.

Monday was a busy day. I coordinated the shut off of his electricity at the old place, then transitioned Dad’s active checking account to his new one in preparation for auto-pay at his new place, then Dad and I brought some smaller stuff over to the new apartment. Calling around to places that took furniture donations, we determined that the living room couch and coffee table, and the guest bedroom set weren’t going to make the cut. The fates of the couch and table would have to wait until the end of the week; the bed (my grandparents old set) destined for the construction dumpster. I took one of the living room bookcases out and placed it in front of the dumpster. It was gone two hours later. My friend Paul agreed to take all my Dad’s plants from his back porch. Talking over a late-night bowl of ice cream, we added my Mon’s lay-z-boy chair to the moving list, thus eliminating the need to look around for a gently-used two-person couch. The master moving list was again updated.

On Tuesday Dad and I brought more stuff over to the new place. We confirmed with the auto place his car would be completed and ready for inspection by the end of the week. We coordinated the transition of his phone and internet over to the new place. Over a late-night bowl of ice cream, we added the long table in the living room to the master moving list, figuring it would serve a nice role in the kitchen entry way for his hat, keys, meds, and what-not. The master moving list was again updated.

Today my nephew will be coming to pick up the kitchen table and chairs.

Thursday is moving day, getting everything being taken to the new apartment out and getting it set up comfortably for him.

Friday will be a big day: hopefully, the car will be ready and we’ll pick it up. That will take a big load off of Dad’s mind – he really wants to get the car and the responsibilities that go along with it out of his life. This will be the day to take stock at what’s left in the old place. He has it until the end of the month, so there will still be time for people to come by and take whatever we’ve left behind. The lady at the office will help me figure out what to do with the rest of the stuff – it’s not like they haven’t dealt with this kind of thing before. Anything still needing to go over to the new place will go, and the old Comcast equipment will be dropped off.

On Saturday I’ll bring his plants over to my friend Paul’s place and turn in the old apartment keys.

By the time Sunday comes I’m hoping to be heading back to Phoenix, leaving the final car inspection and turning it in to both he and my sister-in-law. Dad’s transition to his new life will then be complete.

Overall, things so far have gone fairly smoothly, and it hasn’t been as emotionally taxing as I thought it would be. I don’t feel the sense of any ghosts holding us back: Dad is genuinely excited about the move and getting rid of his car. In talking with folks who have gone through this kind of thing before, this is not always the case. We’re lucky in that regard. I look around this place and think about all the memories and the folks who have lived here and visited here over the past fifteen years and realize it’s time for everyone to move on. It’s time. The place desperately needs an overhaul and an upgrade, and Dad is in a good place both mentally and physically. I know my Mom would surely approve.