I thought I responded to this. I must be really tired. Small world. I wasn't born in Missouri, but I was raised close to Ft. Leonard Wood. At age 19 I moved to Oklahoma.

I can fold the seats in the Durango, but they don't fold flat, per say. I thought about checking on YouTube.

Most "fold-down" seats will not fold flat until there is some weight on them to compress the cushions.

Seriously? I probably need to just experiment. I thought maybe the seat belts were in the way. The 3rd seat lies flat, but I am referring to the center seat. I need to also replace the carpet.

What a great conversation! My husband was from southwest Oklahoma. His family on his mothers side were farmers, and he was an only child. Somehow that background left him having an enormous amount of things. His family saved everything, and being an only child, he inherited it all. I like to live more minimally, so we spent much of our time packing, labeling, and putting things into storage so our home wouldn't be cluttered. That was for the things that didn't fit into the garage or his storage shed. I had stuff from his parents and grandparents to sort though. I should have moved from our home on Maui sooner, but all the "stuff" overwhelmed me and I couldn't deal with it. The spirits that be had to intervene. I came home from work one day and my house had been broken into and all my jewelry stolen. I lost my wedding ring which I was no longer wearing, and all the beautiful gifts my husband gave me over the years. I was devastated and done. My house was under contract in 2 weeks! I got rid of a lot of stuff, and yes, I felt a little guilty, but realized that in order to survive and start my new life I had to let go of all the "stuff". I hoped that my husband would understand and be supportive of this need to downsize to create my new life.
I spent 7 months in NC with family, and then finally decided to move to Denver to live near my daughter. I've been here 2 months now. It's a big adjustment, and the change has brought some of my fears and grief back up to the surface. But I know it's going to be alright and I'll eventually be okay. I'm surprised how long the grief journey takes, especially rebuilding my new life and finding my new self. Fear creeps in. I've started meditating and that is helping. I've also started a gratitude journal, and that helps me focus more on the positive rather than the negative. Blessings ~ Lori

Thanks Lori, for your guest appearance in Ghost Town. My last move was humongous because of all the tools and office equipment. Even with donating hundreds of dollars worth of stuff to Goodwill. Stuff does tend to overwhelm us! I feel guilty for just what I have put in the paper shredder. My real hold up is not knowing for sure if or where I wish to relocate. I want to go visit a particular town in Mo. this summer and check out the church there. Also considering OKC or a suburb of OKC.

I have always had multiple storage units, and I know it's counter-productive. Now I am down to one, but if I do have an estate sale, I will have to put the stuff I want to keep somewhere, I think it is a little early to plan, since I still have some loose ends to wrap up here. Perhaps in April or May. In the meantime, I am praying really hard about this.

My stepson and his family plan to move to Colorado this summer.

I am going to send you a friend request. I blocked half the people on the other board. Once you block them, I guess you can't get them back. I don't know. There's not many on here, but I need to feel like I have some hope, after losing two husbands. It's tough.

I had a hard time deciding where to live. I spent many nights awake stressing over it and losing sleep. After staying with family in NC for as long as I could as a guest, I finally decided to move to Denver and be near my daughter. I felt like I would have regrets if I didn't give this a try. I'm not sure if I love it here, or if this is my last move, but it's good for now. It's nice to be near my daughter, although I don't see her very often. I joined a Unity Church and have met some nice people. I also have gone to a few meet up groups.

Like you, I also was a homemaker, and am too young to collect social security or medicare, so I had find a job after my husband died. I found work on Maui, but now that I'm in Denver I will need to find a full time job, and that's where my insecurities and fear comes in. Right now I have a small part-time job, but no benefits, so I need to try and find some solid work. It's a big change from the life I had with my husband, and each day I keep moving forward. Good luck with all you are dealing with. Blessing to you.
~ Lori

My problem is that I make a horrible house guest. And after 3 days at my sister's house, I am ready to leave. Her husband gets on my nerves. So I may stay one night at an Air BnB. It's also going to be weird staying at my new daughter-in-law's house. I haven't met her yet. She has big dogs, and I'm not an animal lover. I suppose I should let her know this?

Fortunately, I don't have to work - at least not yet. It would be a plus to find cheaper rent or maybe even buy a house. The COL is high here in the NW.

I have owned four houses, but I have been renting an apartment here in ABQ since I arrived here a little over a year ago. It's a very well-maintained apartment complex with a pool, exercise room, etc. There is shopping within a ten-minute walk to just about everything I need.
I have to say that I don't miss owning a house and all the expense of upkeep, taxes, and everything else that goes with it. At least in this area, there are 6-months leases available, so you are not stuck with a 12-month lease at the beginning. I like it here, and don't plan to move anytime soon -- but it's comforting to know that if I do decide to move, I don't have to go through the ordeal of putting a house on the market. Also, if were in the market for a house, it would give me time to learn about the area and the housing market.

Redshoes (John), that is sort of my way of thinking, as far as owning a home. I guess I am curious, though, as to whether or not I could actually get a VA home loan. The problem with owning a home is that if you don't like your neighbors or your area, too bad, too sad. Traveling is not something i do well, so hopefully, the next move will be my last. It looks like my vacation is going to be put off till the middle of July, unfortunately. So much for my thinking I would get preferential treatment :( .

Tim (TimLovesMelissa) and I ‘met’ on DS in 2010 and have now been married 5 years. In October we moved from my old house in OUR house. We still have boxes of memories, but for the first time, we are creating new memories in a place of our own. It’s wonderful. It’s not about forgetting or moving on, its about celebrating our shared strength and merged lives.

That is wonderful. I don't really think I would meet anyone on here who would be compatible, But you do have to create new memories. I have done it once before.