Looking Up

 

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Back in 2011, I wrote here and here about our preparing to move.  At that point we'd already had our home on the market for some time.
TWO years later, after moving across four states, living for a summer in our 5th wheel- stationed at my mother-in-law's- which was cramped but fun if you minus out the teenage annoyance, then renting a large, furnished home that has been quite spendy to heat and cool, we are finally getting ready for our own home. 

OUR OWN HOME!
It will be:
-Smaller than we're used to
-On land that was previously a farmed field, so we are starting from scratch with trees, shrubs  and lawn
-Cheaper to heat and cool
-Cozy  
and, most importantly, our very own.

We were at a scout auction the other night and the Man of the House laughingly told me he was about to bid on a set of handmade birdhouses- until he remembered we don't have any trees.
 He then quickly asked me not to cry.

I didn't cry.  I am looking up.  Looking at my incredible blessings, looking at all the beauty around me, the hand of the Lord in our lives for these past 24 years.  Excited to be moving in on the cusp of Spring, ready to put a garden in.  Ready to beautify my home, make it my own.
I am very blessed, indeed.

Moving

When we were younger, moving was an adventure!  
What would our next home look like, our new town have to offer?
Which restaurants or local stores would become our new favorites?
Who would we meet and then become our good friends?

Now I find that the older I get, the more I just want to stay put. 
Because everywhere you live and then leave, you also leave behind a part of yourself.
That's the hardest.
My children also realize this and they, too, have mixed feelings.

Would I feel as sad if it were January, not June?  Probably, but leaving my home when everything is blossoming , my peas are producing, butterflies are fluttering about and the fire pit is begging for marshmallows.....is just that much harder.


I remind myself daily of the reasons we wanted to move in the first place.
And when I'm packing box after box and wishing I was somewhere swimming instead,  I think of family holidays to come, sunsets in farm country, the sound of irrigation sprinklers in summer and all of our old favorite places.

It helps.


Content copyright © 2011 by Jessa at Graceful Landing

Downsizing

I'm thinkin' the above saying might be true...

I've seen it often on cute signs and wished I had one back in the day when our own small house was bulging at the seams with active children and not enough closet space!

Today, however, was spent reorganizing and deep cleaning a house that is quickly becoming much too large.  

 We still have four active children at home

and our oldest daughter stayed with us for the past month with her husband and newborn daughter. 

Which we enjoyed immensely!

But the truth of it is; our family is downsizing.  It may take a few more years but at some point, it's just gonna be me and the Man of the House.

All those years yearning for a spacious family home...and now that we've got it, we constantly hear the children reminiscing about the years spent in our smaller, cozy dwelling.

For me, cleaning this large house from top to bottom has sold me on the idea of a more modest abode.

Something large enough for big family gatherings, room for hobbies and sturdy enough to grow old in.

Something in which to create family memories...and stay there so long they have time to really sink in.

'Cause there's nothing I dislike more than uprooting and leaving behind memories of my family: painting over their marked heights on the wall, leaving the spot where they took their first steps or even a much-loved pet buried on the property.

I used to dream of having two living rooms- one for the family and one for guests.  So my children, who back then were constantly bringing their clothing in to dress and stringing their toys and projects out, would be confined to the messy room. 

I would have a lovely sitting room for visiting and quiet reading, reflecting on life and enjoying a crackling fire.

Now I realize sitting rooms are pretty much for...sitting. 

And gathering dust.

Everyone still enjoys the energy of the real gathering room.  Messy or not.

It also helps that my children are no longer streaking around the house in their skivvies on any given morning.

It's funny, isn't it, how your perspective changes?

I'm thankful for this experience.  Without it, I may have continued to pine away for a large home.  I may have battled a bit of envy every time I drove by spacious family domiciles.

Lesson learned.

I'm a fairly quick learner.

 

Now to get this house sold.

Next lesson for me to learn: PATIENCE.

(Please let this lesson be quick!)