I have a lot on my mind these days.

Todd and I are getting ready to sell this house and travel the western half of the United States for a year.

It’s not good timing. My father is in assisted living, and my siblings and I have to deal with all that sets in motion. Of course, in this situation, it’s hard to know what would be good timing. I’ve wanted to travel like this for years.

I will continue to copyedit while traveling, and I hope to be able to sell my photographs on the road, though I’m not sure how that’s possible without a permit, and how will I get a permit in each city when I’m there for only a month? Todd is trying to convince Polycom to let him work remotely and planning his next movie, to be shot on the road.

There’s some risk involved. It’s possible, though unlikely, that we could burn through all the profits from the sale of the house and not be able to afford to buy a new one. It’s also possible we’ll keep traveling after this year.

That’s what I like about this situation: I don’t know what’s going to happen.

We have a route planned, which you can see on our 12 Cities, 1 Year website. We have some general ideas of what we want to do in certain cities. That’s about it. We welcome suggestions about things to do in each city.

Right now, though, our focus is on selling the house. We were planning to take it to market next week, but I decided I needed another week to work on the yard. After that, we have to get rid of most of our stuff, which I think will be a bigger chore than selling the house.

When I moved to Boulder in 1987, my sister and I brought a carload of stuff. After my arrival, I bought a bed and a cardboard dresser. I enjoyed not having so much stuff, and I think I will enjoy going back to that state.