Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Dementia + Divorce = devastating reboot

Curious if this old format still works, here's a try. My wife of 30 years has decided she wants a divorce despite my dementia, retirement and end of life issues so after a long long time, it is soon to be over and as I had predicted years ago, I will be homeless and carless. At least until I turn the settlement into a reboot life. Enter my current dream; Prius Living

After caring for my mom for 6 months in Oklahoma and living with my parents, then two different friends, I had a good idea of what was essential for me in a living situation and what I could live without. So when finalizing the divorce (still eluding me) and dealing with COVID19 lockdown, I returned to Memphis to packup what is mine. Today I am beginning to pack up what is sentimental and priceless to me and storing it. What is not sentimental or priceless I will either sell or give away. I hope to find a 2017 Prius V and begin to take a long road trip to national parks, state parks, hiking and visiting friends in North America.

I have joined a few forums and such for inspiration, but it really boils down to what each person who chooses this reboot needs and we all have different needs. What is important to me is reliability, climate control and space for my dog (and cat?) so I am swapping my instant tent for an SUV tent, keeping the coleman stove and adding in a few key items. Photos coming soon. My adult sons will be helping me organize the trip, tracking my location and assisting with budgeting. I am making this move because my monthly income is $1010 after paying my health insurance. Finding affordable ($500) rent in this city in a walkable and safe neighborhood is hard. I had wanted to do a grand american retirement national park trip for a long time, but I lost my motivation, my spark and my courage when I thought of being alone, demented and driving. I don't think I can do it forever, but I will try it for several months and see what happens.