Unfinished Business

Life... is not simply a series of exciting new ventures. The future is not always a whole new ball game. There tends to be unfinished business.~ Anita Brookner

Since last May, we've been trying to get all our ducks in a row so we can leave our land life behind for three months with a minimum of stress. We've jumped through the passport and visa hoops. We updated our vaccinations. We picked out excursions and arranged for pre-cruise hotel and travel to the port. We paid for it all ahead of time. We arranged to settle our household bills online and by direct debit in our absence. 

We dreamed. We planned. We packed.

I so wanted to leave all our worries on the pier. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we can't dot all the i's and cross all the t's before we leave. 

Most of our retirement income comes from our rental units. We are proud of our duplexes and believe that offering clean, safe homes for a fair price is a win-win for us and our tenants. When we first decided to venture into landlording,  we promised ourselves we'd never rent a unit we wouldn't live in. So we update when a unit becomes vacant. We maintain them well. If there's a problem, it's addressed right away. It usually works out for all involved. We appreciate our tenants and most of them return the favor.

Damage removed--Ready to be rebuilt now

But last fall, we had to initiate an eviction--a process which takes much longer and costs more than we expected. Finally at the end of December, we regained possession of the unit. We expect wear and tear, but not willful destruction. All the flooring needs to be replaced, in some places past the sub floor to the bare joists. The drywall looks as if someone used the walls as a punching bag. There are bashed in holes everywhere. All the doors, interior and exterior, have been kicked in and the frames destroyed. When they smashed the exterior doors, water leaked in and started rot and mold in the subfloor. Kitchen cabinets and appliances were similarly bashed. Clearly, there was a lot of violence in the unit.  

Repair estimates to make the place habitable again have topped more than we'll collect in almost two years of rent--on both sides of the duplex. And to make matters worse, our trusted contractor (the same fellow who remodeled our own home) can't get it done until March 1st. We would love to have a new tenant lined up for then, but right now, it's a bare shell. It's hard for folks to imagine how nice it will be once the unit has all new high quality laminate floors, fresh paint, a new kitchen and new appliances. It will likely remain empty until we return.

So, I'm fretting. 

Part of me wonders if we were wrong to have booked this cruise--an unnecessary, some would say frivolous and self-indulgent, expense. (Though to be honest, this entire trip--cruise fare, tips, excursions, pre- and post- travel & hotels, insurance, vaccinations, visas, etc.--costs less than the tricked out diesel pick-up my DH had been eyeing with lust in his heart.) Still, if we weren't going on this cruise, I wouldn't be as worried about the expense of rehabbing our rental. 

Maybe this isn't the right time to be going all the way around the world.

  
But then my DH reminds me that things could be ever so much worse. We could be facing a health crisis, or something with our kids or my parents. A problem that can be fixed with money is relatively small in the long view of things. 

And, as far as the timing of this journey goes, there will always be something trying to tug us back to shore. There is no right time. There's only now.  

So a week from Monday when we board the Pacific Princess, I resolve to leave my unfinished business on the pier. One way or another, it'll all shake out eventually. With respect to worries, I want to travel light.