I guess our lives are truly always filled with new beginnings. Each day is a new one with new experiences. Some are more memorable and perhaps monumental than others.
Tonight is our last night sleeping in our house. Over eight years ago we moved in, riding high on a successful business, full of hope and possibility of what life might bring us. We carefully picked out everything in this house, choosing what we thought would be our dream home we'd live many years in - brick we loved, custom layout adjustments, high-end appliances and granite, beautiful hardwoods, every detail was considered. Then we finished the basement with all kinds of great plans for the future in mind - yet no time to make them happen.We filled our home with family and friends and made great new ones in our neighbors. Holidays, birthdays, several NYE parties, LM Design Team retreats, a retirement party, a going away party, and even a wedding reception all took place here. This is the last home among my family that my Nana had spent time in - we've all moved on now, 7 years later. It's also been host to a lot of stressful times - a lot of work and not enough time to enjoy what we had created. And sadness as well. It's now been 3 years ago this month that we decided that we needed a change - that we would not continue living our lives unhappily (or unhealthily), and that our priorities in life had changed. With the advice of our lawyers and some soul searching, we decided to give up our house and truly start fresh. The weight slowly lifted off our shoulders (and off our bodies!) as the year went on and we knew we'd made the right decision for our future. Living more simply in order to enjoy living.
It took much longer than we'd ever imagined to get to this night - but the timing has been perfect. We are ready now. Even a year ago we weren't really. Now we are ready, and actually anxious, to close the door on this chapter of our lives. I won't lie to you and tell you that there aren't tears in my eyes as I look around me - but it's not the house really (well it might be my gas stove or my big bathtub;)) - it's the memories here that leave me a little sad tonight, even knowing they go with us. On other days I might remind you that all we truly have is the present - but today has been a day of reflection into the past, something both Thad and I needed. Tomorrow is another new beginning!
