Sunday, July 10, 2016

Last Day Of A New Beginning

Today was the last day my wife and I will spend in our old home. We recently moved from a townhouse to a detached home. The entire process of selling and buying a home has involved a lot of time, hard work, and stress.

Despite how happy we are in our new home, and knowing there is still work ahead to make our new home ready, it was a difficult last day in the old home. We packed up the few remaining items and cleaned the home to get it ready for the new homeowners. As we were doing our final checks of each room, I couldn't help remember specific moments over the past few years.

I remembered the many times I would hold Adelaide up to her wall with stickers to point out the colorful leaves, flowers, and butterflies. I remember how she would point to each item as I mentioned them. The same would be said for Marshall, as we would "go around the room" each night to point out colorful paintings of sea life; crab, turtle, sea horse, starfish, whales, and fish. As I went through their rooms, I couldn't help but realize how significant this house was to our family. Our children lived their first few years in this home.

I admit it was a bit overwhelming and couldn't really feel satisfied knowing we were leaving behind the one place our children had known, as well as the only place we had known with regards to raising them from birth. I don't know if I could wish how to put the feelings into words. It was sad, and I don't know if there's any other way to describe it. Meghan and I have made a leap into a new home to provide more space for the two kiddos that have seemingly outgrown the space they've grown to love.

I guess it's not a surprise when one of the two little munchkins has found it difficult to adjust to the new house and rooms. Today's last day of the old home made me realize how significant our kids' feelings to it have been, and their new reactions, especially at bedtime, have been to this point. I couldn't help but think about the good memories we shared in the home as we went through the space earlier today.

Does this feeling go away with time? I'm sure it will, or at least I hope it will, for all of us. It's been a difficult process, and although we've been excited to be where we are today including the work put in this past week to prepare our new home during the move, I have to admit the difficulty in letting go to the home where Meghan and I raised our two children.

I had grown to feel quite comfortable in the old home. I appreciated the memories we got to live in day in and day out, and today's departure made me realize how much I will miss the times we had there and knowing we're leaving the space where so many memories were created.

I now hope for many more good memories to build upon in our new home. I hope our kids love this place as much as they love the old.