Grandparents on the move...

Today, we began day 1 of moving my Maternal Grandparents from their duplex in Stockton to the Bay Area. My Mom is their only child, and they've talked for years of the idea of moving to the Bay Area to be closer to all of us. My Mom has done an amazing amount of work this year to make it happen, and they signed their lease for their new apartment earlier this month!

My Grandparents have lived in one half of a duplex for the past 35 years. It is the only home that I can remember them living in. When they first bought the duplex in 1971, they rented out the other side to my parents, and we lived for the first couple of years of my life.

So far, the move has gone quite smoothly, due mostly to the amount of work and organization that my parent's have done so far. The movers came this morning, and packed all of the things that they'll be bringing with them to the new apartment. They are moving from a 2-bedroom/1 bath duplex with a full two-car garage to a 1 bedroom/1 bath apartment with no garage. There is a reasonable amount of stuff that had to be left behind, that we'll be digging through over the next few weeks/months.

We'll be meeting the movers at the new apartment tomorrow morning, and will be unpacking and organizing all day.

I really hope that the move proves to be a good thing for my Grandparents. As much as they wanted to move to the Bay Area, I also realize how difficult emotionally this must be for them. They lived in their duplex for 35 years, and have lived in Stockton for almost 60. The apartment complex that they're moving to is really a fantastic place. It's a city-subsidized senior apartment complex. The rent is amazing (for Bay Area standards) the apartments are nice, and well taken care of, and from what we've seen so far, the residents are very friendly. They also offer many activities - Bingo, Line Dancing, Cooking Classes, Ballroom Dancing, Mah-Jong, etc., (Hey - with all of those fun activities, I may want to move there!) They also offer a free shuttle service to and from the Senior Community Center and the Mall.

Here's hoping that tomorrow will go as smoothly as today did....