WE DID IT! WE’VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IT FOR QUITE SOME TIME and now it has become a reality. We sold our home and bought a condo. No more leaf-raking. Goodbye to shoveling snow and chipping ice forever. Farewell to mowing the lawn. And, what is more, we bid adieu to painting the exterior of our residence. We have been released from these unpleasant burdens by simply changing our address and type of domain.

I don’t want to think of the number of hours spent in our lifetime dealing with these chores, but I have calculated that at least 37 billion leaves have been raked and bagged and a minimum of 14 tons of snow shoveled, pushed and blown in cold New York and Michigan. And, as far as mowing is concerned, I walked behind the mower enough times to know that it is equal to crossing the United States four times!

So, what are you waiting for? Let someone else work for you. You deserve a break. Relax. Sip some ice tea or have a cup of coffee and sit near the window and watch the workmen do their thing. Your back and shoulders will appreciate it, say nothing of your pocketbook. The expense of buying the gas for the snow blower and lawn mower as well as those annoying paper leaf bags will be a thing of the past.

It might mean your domain is a little smaller, but again it will also mean that less space equals less work. After all, do you really need all that stuff? Remember when you first started out, how little you had? Were you unhappy? Not at all, ‘cause the more you accumulate, the more you worry about losing it. Simplify your life. Goodwill is waiting for you. The Salvation Army will bless you and the Gospel Mission will sing your praises.