I was often the smallest person in any group, often the youngest too. That age difference changed decades ago, but I am still surprised to discover I am the oldest in a group. I am still often the smallest (my friend Madora is smaller than me, but she’s the only one).

I have fantasized about living in a smaller space at least since our sons became teenagers. Our home requires work and money to remain healthy. Retirement and not having pets has allowed us the time and money to do that upkeep, but it requires more attention than I will be able to spare. I could copy and paste the list of all the upkeep expenses coming for our beach house, but I’m pretty sure that’s a bad idea. Suffice to say that as I watched my father die of cancer and my mother age, I considered how best to handle my own aging.