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So…. we’ve been living in son #2’s granny suite since returning from Mexico in April, in order to re-establish a residence for provincial health care after almost 2 years of full-time out-of-country travel. It’s been reasonable rent (significantly less than a comparable AirBNB), and the bonus has been the priceless chance to be involved in our three young grandsons’ lives on a daily basis.

When our son and his family moved here, due to his military posting, their plan was to stay put in this rental for 2-4 years. His job hasn’t changed, but the circumstances of the home’s owners has: their landlords’ plan was to be with their parents and extended family in Iran for up to 4 years, until their family were all safely relocated to either Turkey or Canada. Last month’s attack by Hamas on Israel, and the escalating conflict between Israel and Palestine, has made their stay in a Hamas-friendly country precarious.

They need to come home.

Our kids need to find a new one.

That’s no easy task for a family of 5 in just 60 days in BC’s crazy hot real estate and rental market.

Us being here with them has both simplified and complicated things. While Ted and I can pick up and move any time, our contribution to son #2’s monthly rental budget is almost a necessity here in Coquitlam.

Most homes here have in-law suites or lower level apartments, but most of those secondary accommodations are rented separately. Finding a home within budget, and without us, has meant venturing further afield.

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Fortified with lots of espresso-based fuel, we’ve all spent hours and hours on phones, iPads, and the computer searching for rentals and messaging each other with options.

I have renewed admiration for the teamwork shown by our son and our little dynamo of a daughter-in-law, who have powered their way through the migraine-inducing tasks of culling through listings, calling/messaging/emailing to ask questions and make appointments, and creating schedules for viewing the options.

The good news is that as of today they’ve found their next new home. It’s across the street from a park, near good schools, close to sports centres and nature trails, and it has a great kitchen. It has tenants already in the ground floor suite, but it has MUCH better soundproofing than our current shared space, so that hopefully shouldn’t be a problem. After all, our high energy high decibel grandsons are all in school all day – and there’s that park across the road where they can burn off excess energy.

Now the physical work starts: the packing up of a household – this time without the military’s help since the move is not related to a new posting.

As for Ted and me, we’ve always said we can live anywhere as long as it is together. Our lifestyle over the past 5-plus years has necessitated being ready to deal with unexpected glitches.

Our soon-to-end stay with our son is tied for the longest we’ve been in one place since selling everything back in 2018. We’re travelling for all of January and February 2024, so don’t need a place until March. We do need to stay somewhere in British Columbia (related to that re-established residency requirement), but it can be anywhere in the province – and our mailing address can be in care of our son’s mailbox.

That said, we’ve already discovered and booked a really nice VRBO only a half hour walk from our grandkids’ new location, and have made plans to move there for the month of March before leaving on our April transatlantic cruise, returning after that cruise for a couple of other multi-month stays.

In the meantime, we need to vacate this space concurrent with leaving for our December river cruise in Germany. Our immediate priority is finding interim accommodation from December 20th until January 5th when we fly to San Diego to begin our “cruise & stay” winter away, and there’s a suitable AirBNB I’ve already reserved.

Did we get gifted some unexpected lemons? Our kids certainly did, but they’re definitely making them into lemonade.

As for us, we’ll just keep on moving, all the while wishing them happiness and – above all – peace and love. It’s what the world needs now.

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UPDATE: We’ve begun selling the things we “borrowed back” from our kids to furnish our current space. As of mid November, we’re re-living our early married days and eating off a folding table and non-matching folding chairs. At least 45 years ago the card table set all matched and the chairs were padded (thanks, Norm & Anne!) Almost everything else gets picked up 2 days before we leave for Europe, and will help outfit a lovely young couple’s guest suite.