Easter Weekend 2023 - Liotti Update


Short Update: 

• We moved into our rental in Santa Cruz over the weekend.  Our life is slowly emerging from boxes. Going from a 3 bedroom home to a small 2 bedroom space is a challenge! 

• The new place is old and quaint. We’re about 1 mile to the beach and close to amenities. After being in the woods for five years it’s refreshing to be near things. 

• The dogs are settling in. 

• We still have a lot of things in the Boulder Creek house. We need to get rid of a lot. We’ll have a yard sale in a couple of weeks. 

• I’m beginning to reach out to attorneys and others regarding the next steps with the Boulder Creek home. We will most likely need to let it go based on the financial numbers to repair it. Lots of important decisions coming up. 


Longer Update: 


This weekend was a whirlwind. Even with the movers it was an extremely busy weekend. It’s amazing how much accumulates over time! We’ve been homeowners for many years and going from a moderately sized place to a small one is causing a lot of choices to be made. In the end, decluttering and simplifying is a really good exercise. 


It wasn't lost on me that this was Easter weekend. I'm holding out for resurrection and renewal! 




The new house is great. It’s old, built in the 1940s, and therefore small. The neighborhood seems good, even with an apartment complex across the street. The home is on a small piece of land with two additional ADUs in the back. The immediate neighbors seem great. Two of them are social workers, so we have much in common. After living in the woods for five years I really appreciate living near things. Simple things like a coffee shop a block away and a Whole Foods down the street are awesome!  Melissa’s work is only a few minutes away and we’re close to the beach. I feel like we’ve landed in a nice place for the next season. 


Now, the adrenaline is wearing off.  I’m definitely feeling my age! The excitement of the move is waning. Now the long process of disposing of the house and repairing our finances will begin.


Some have asked about how were coping with the loss of the house and the equity. It might sound cavalier, but I’ve come to the point where I must let go. Money comes, money goes. We serve a greater purpose than accumulating wealth and security. As I’ve just seen, security is an illusion. It all can disappear in a moment, from a natural disaster, an illness, a relationship break... lots of ways. Melissa and my life have always been about others. We met serving others, and we’ve lived serving others. Our wealth is in other places less tangible. I’ve been around enough wealthy people to know that money does not bring happiness. 


I’m not naive nor delusional, this hasn’t been easy and I’m sure we’ll have some dark days ahead as we walk this journey.  Losing our home was a major blow. But, even in the few days that have passed I’m seeing the bigger picture more clearly, gaining perspective on a life lived. I’ve leaned on my faith to get me through. 


Today I remembered the text,  “Don’t pile up treasures on earth, where moth and rust can spoil them and thieves can break in and steal. But keep your treasure in Heaven where there is neither moth nor rust to spoil it and nobody can break in and steal. For wherever your treasure is, you may be certain that your heart will be there too!”


My “treasure” are family, the friends we have, the life we’ve lived, and the experiences we’ve had. My “wealth” are those who reached out to me, helped us financially, and gave moral support. That can’t be taken away. I find solace in that. 

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