Just a thought… You can start anew at any given moment. Life is just the passage of time and it’s up to you to pass it as you please. [Charlotte Eriksson]

Here we are heading in the final week of October when it feels like a dream that our baseball team – Canada’s baseball team – is in the World Series. Tied at one, they’re in LA tonight for the first of three. All they need is one win to bring it back to Toronto; obviously we’re hoping for two, and dreaming of three.

Aside from baseball, we have other things on our minds these days and Rob is waking up in the night to solve mental puzzles. Because it doesn’t rain, it pours, we have finally sold our house! That’s the big news: after nearly a year-and-a-half on the market, we took the second offer we got. It was well below our original asking price, but we finally caved and just said Let Them.

And now…let us! We have a house not-quite-full of furniture and some we are keeping for a cottage down the road (or more accurately, across the water on a Gulf Island). But what to do with it before that decision is made? Well, it’s going into U-Haul storage containers, to be trucked over to an island when the time comes.

Now let me add more more piece to the puzzle (although “take away” might be more apt for the confusion that surrounds this metaphor): we leave on Nov. 13 for a long-planned trip to Mexico, having sworn off the US. I’m staying until March; Rob flies home two weeks later to resume his hockey duties, both organizing goalies and playing as one. I have at least one friend and hopefully a sister or two coming to visit, so I won’t be alone. And I’m 110 days into my online Spanish course, plus my phone has a translator, so I won’t get into too much trouble that I can’t get out of.

It’s all a matter of what goes where, and when…and then where it gets unloaded and in how much time. SO much to figure out, but then I never did make life easy on us. The day after I did my final radio show in Toronto, we were on a plane to BC. Our friend and producer, Ian “The General” MacArthur asked, “Why would you do that to yourselves?” and I didn’t have a good answer. Once I make my mind up, I just want things done.

Oh, I should mention to you that yesterday marked 20 years since Mike Cooper and I formally began our permanent radio partnership in Toronto with a breakfast broadcast at College Park’s Carlu space. I sent Mike a text yesterday reminding him, and he responded with love and a line from Sgt. Pepper’s: “It was 20 years ago today…”

…Erin and Mike got the chance to play. And what fun we had!

I’m not sure what this next chapter in my ReWirement is going to hold, but I’m ready to let some doors close as others open. And as we get set to welcome November (with clocks going back this Sunday by the way, two days after trick-or-treaters do their thing) the timing feels as good as any to look ahead with hope and optimism. And World Series dreams, of course!

Have a great week and please join Lisa Brandt and me this Thursday for Episode 150 (!) of Gracefully and Frankly. We’ve just surpassed a milestone of 200,000 downloads and show no signs of slowing down. We’d love for you to give us a listen (free, of course, thanks to our friends at enVypillow and SierraSil) and join in this gathering. This week, the focus is going to be on getting better sleep. ‘Cause goodness knows Rob will be listening carefully!