New Chapter in our lives

Now that we finally have internet (and cable and phone)- yee-freakin'-haw - that was a VERY hard time for our family doing without for nearly 2 weeks are somewhat settled, and I am forced to do nothing due to medical reasons able to rest and relax a bit, it's time to catch up here.

So, back in August, we looked at a house, fell in love with it instantly and KNEW that it was *THE* one for us. We put an offer in, readied and listed ours, sold ours in less than 6 hours (that was the trippiest part of this whole endeavour), packed, and ultimately moved. There's no secret that I didn't love the house we were in. While the space itself was fine - even finer about 2 kids ago, and the location good, it wasn't a good fit for a family of 5. It truly was a house built for 3 (in my opinion). While the neighbours were great - it was a terrific neighbourhood, they were too close. We'd sit to eat dinner at the dining room table and the neighbour would wave from their kitchen window, or, if I was sitting outside on my new deck, I could hear them flush the toilet (among other noises that I'd rather not discuss). AND...we saw FAR more of the one neighbour than anyone should have to see as he entered and exited his hot tub. You'd think I'd learn not to look, but when that damn hot tub was running, it made a noise that forced me to look, EVERY SINGLE TIME, and every single time I saw WAY more than I should have. If I could only bleach that from my brain...

Anyway, as I packed up the house readying for our big move day I questioned whether or not we were in fact crazy for doing this is such a short period of time AND I realized that I don't like the moving process at all, I got more and more excited. I was ready to bust out of the tiny space we were in and move on. I also realized that we had a lot of stuff. A whole lot. 5 people over the course of 16.5 years can accumulate A LOT of shit. Oh my stars...I've never made so many trips to the donation bins, the second hand stores, and the dump. Despite that, we still brought A LOT of stuff into this new house. WOW. I'm certain that you'll see at least 2 of my children on a future episode of Hoarders.

Back on track here...as I prepared for this move, I went through a whole gambit of emotions...euphoria, fear, happiness, excitement, anger, frustration, exhaustion, disbelief. But I also had an emotion that completely surprised and broadsided me.

Sadness.

I mean, how can someone experience sadness when this move was so needed? We were moving into a bigger space, with more bedrooms, more bathrooms, more yard, and more space in general? But there it was; sadness crept right on in and punched me right in the cockles of my heart. Suddenly I realized that my kids were all raised in this ridiculously small space, and there were many memories connected to this house. Many, many, MANY memories.

All the while, I was trying to arm Imp with the tools he needed to make this big move. He had already made the successful transition to a new school (I'm SO proud of him for his ability to easily make the transition to this new school - he did it willingly and stepped WAY out of his comfort level to do so - and he never complained, even though I knew it was the hardest thing he's ever had to do), but he was definitely really worried about the move. Suddenly we were taking away his *safe place* and were moving him to a new, completely unfamiliar space. In the days directly before the move, I didn't have time to think about sadness - or happiness or anything - I was just trying to pack everything up so we could accomplish this move in a short period of time. I figured I was emotionally safe at that point. BUT...then on moving day, after the house was completely emptied, and I was at the house somewhat alone (Banshee was out at the car waiting for me, and the cleaning lady was cleaning) doing the once over...sadness came back, with a side of nostalgia. Hard. I walked through all those empty rooms and remembered various milestones and events that occurred in them. It was very bittersweet. The tears started and I questioned if we were doing the right thing after all. This house was all that our kids had known. Then I told myself the same thing I told Imp and Banshee as they prepared for this move...that the memories were all stored in our minds and hearts, and that our new house would provide us with new memories. So, as I walked out the door for the last time, and pulled away for the last time, I bid farewell to the place that provided so many stresses memories and milestones.

THEN...I walked into our new house, and realized that we were doing the right thing. I got over the sadness REALLY fast....goodbye old house, thanks for the memories, but heeeellllloooo NEW HOUSE!! Now that we're settled (mostly), we are looking to start making new memories...starting with this weekend when Teen comes home to her 'home' for the first time, and when we celebrate our first Thanksgiving dinner.