New Beginnings

The next three days are going to be filled with lots of “firsts” and “lasts” for me and the family.  Leaving the driveway yesterday, I realized this is the last morning I will be departing from my home to go to work – we move tomorrow!  When I pulled into work I realized it was the last day that I was going to pull into this parking lot.  Last night was our last “family sleep over” in the old house (family sleep over is when the boys grab their pillows and blankets to watch a movie and sleep in our room).   We moved here shortly after getting married, and since then have created this haven filled with love, toys, and almost ten years of memories.

I worked for the home builder at the time and didn’t think that we could afford to purchase a home, let alone build a brand new one!  On the way back from our honeymoon, I had mentioned to my husband that the model home that he had liked was now being built in a community nearby.  That weekend, after fighting some serious jet lag, we went to the community and before I knew it, R was placing a SOLD sticker on one of the topo table’s lots.  I guess we bought a house!  I was very hesitant, but my boss explained to me that it was the best time to buy (and we also received a crazy employee discount).  Every weekend we would get up early, grab a coffee and drive to the new home, journaling the progress via photographs.  It was amazing to see something “grow” from the ground up!  Nine months passed and we were moving in!  It was Thanksgiving weekend, and we didn’t waste any time.  Friday morning my dad, husband and I went to Brandsmart to get a new TV for the family room (what a zoo – I will never go there again on Black Friday).  Saturday the movers came to our old condo and before you knew it, we were unpacking in the new home.

I got the chicken pox shortly after our first Christmas here (thanks to my sister who contracted the pox on Christmas Eve), spending a week at home but loving every minute spent here.   I told my husband that we were pregnant with our first son in the foyer downstairs back in 2004.  I remember telling him when we were expecting our second little guy back in 2006; we were in the bedroom folding laundry.  Petey and Harley, our beloved dog and cat, lived their final, happy years here.  Sadie came into the family in 2009, and marked this house as her home more than a few times (oh, that puppy stage).

All of the holidays celebrated here – birthdays, Christmases, Thanksgivings, Hanukkahs, Easters…now I sit here waiting for the movers.  Our lives are packed in boxes (262 boxes to be exact) and plastic bags.  I am holding myself back from cleaning the floors and countertops, trying to find something to keep my mind and hands busy.  I know we are going to create even more memories in the new home, and I really didn’t think this move would affect me as much as it is this morning.  Happy and sad, tired, ready for the next chapter.