Bittersweet

Bittersweet. 

This move has been a little bittersweet.  We have so many fond memories of our daughter growing up in this house, and I've told Chuck that what I'll miss most is not the now, but the what used to be. I'm glad, though, that we had the opportunity to hang two new stockings on our mantle at Christmas before we moved as we've watched our family grow. 

Each time we leave the house it seems less and less our home. It first began when we staged the house for sale. When our personal photos and mementoes were removed something seemed to be lacking. During the short time it was on the market the house had to be kept in model home condition. Our cat was boarded, and we pared down to one bathroom, leaving the newly remodeled master bathroom for the new owners. We became quite adept at living out of a crate which could easily be whisked away into the game room closet at a moments notice. 

Our move to the apartment began in stages, and has continued to do so over the last week and a half. Bit by bit as we have moved all our familiar possessions here, and set up shop this has become home. As I wrote before our cat appears to be in apartment heaven. This past weekend found us hard at work as we made two trips to the farm and brought back some more to the apartment. All that bragging about downsizing might just be a sham. 

With everything moved out of the house, and a few things left in the garage awaiting another Goodwill run, our house feels more like an empty shell echoing when we speak. I know that the last time we turn the key and walk away there will be a lump in my throat. Our house will no longer be ours, and will await its new owners. I hope she is just as special to them as she was to us.