end of an era

Conrad and Van are in Vancouver, and I am not.  Yesterday they sorted the things that are being shipped down to Pasadena and got them ready for pick-up tomorrow.  Today they (and Marie has been there, too) worked to get all of the furniture out, save for a few pieces that the new owners have purchased from us.  By early afternoon, the place was pretty much empty.

And so that's it.  The end of an era.  We own the condo for two more weeks, but I won't see it in that time (my passport is off in Ottawa for renewal).  Last September (or was it October?) was the last time I saw it.  Staged, ready for sale.  And that was it.

We bought the place in 2007, taking possession in May of that year.  Marie moved in, and we would use the spare bedroom every time we visited.  After our wedding in 2011, Conrad and I took it over, and until 2019 we were able to use it any time we wanted, just walking on in and settling in.  We had a fully furnished second home there.  We kept clothes there.  We needed nothing.  And I loved it.  The views, the space.  We had Christmases there and birthdays and more.  So many mornings running and walking in and around the city from there.  Every time we started our day at Safari.  Every time we wandered up to Mamie Taylor's for a good dinner at the bar.

And then in 2019, the condo association voted to remove the rental cap on the building.  Just like that, we were vulnerable to the empty homes tax, and we were forced to rent the place out.  September of that year we had a tenant move in.  I didn't see the place for four years, not until last fall when the tenants moved out and we began the work of putting the condo on the market.

I'm so happy that Conrad and Van and Marie got so much done.  I am happy that the stress of selling is behind us, and we can invest the gains on the sale into our retirement.  But I sit here before dinner in Pasadena, feeling melancholy.  I wish we still had the place, but only if we could use it.  I wish we didn't have to sell - I know we don't HAVE to, but we don't want to be landlords.  I wish I could have seen it again.

Thank you, Vancouver condo, for so many good memories.  I will miss you greatly.