Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Bittersweet memories

I’m packing up my life, it feels. My food…my clothes…my bath products…So many things are scattered between two houses. All of my books (minus the three or four that I have to have with me at all times) are at the new house. My winter clothes are at the new house. My pantry food (some of it) is packed in grocery bags and set along the kitchen counter in the old house. Vicki keeps sniffing the marshmallows.

I’ve gotten weepy twice this morning (thanks, Misti), and it’s just now 8:03 a.m. It’s bittersweet, packing up all our belongings from our first house. Our first house. And this morning I finally figured out why I have the weepies.

This has been my first home since high school.

Okay, not that I’ve been homeless by any means. I always had some place to stay, even if it was a friend’s couch (and, for a summer month, that was home). But in college, I was a suitcase kid. I stayed in the dorms, in houses, or wherever during the weekdays and headed home most weekends. I lived out of a suitcase.  The first four months after graduation, I moved five to six times (depending on how you view one particular situation, but that’s a long story). That’s crazy!!

Even when we finally got our first home, it was an apartment we stayed in for nine months. I was used to moving every nine months. I didn’t get really attached to the apartment. It was fun, it was cute, and then we moved.

To this house. The house where my husband actually lived in college. The house where we shared our first kiss. The house where he asked me to date him. The house we bought. The house where I announced I was getting my dream job. The house where we celebrated birthdays. Had parties. The house where we started nighttime Easter egg hunts.

Tina's first time to dye Easter eggs
Hiding eggs for the somewhat annual nighttime Easter egg hunt
When Vicki "ran away"
Her "dognappers" brought her back soon ;)
Christmas -- our first Christmas tree
Newer Christmas trees
The dog, dressed up in her Christmas present from her Aunt Jayne 
Stocking stuffer
A rare snow day!

Our sweet home
Tina, saying good-bye to Vicki before her northern move 
The Super family
Christmas party
Summer party
But then, while I was reading Misti’s blog this morning, I thought of all of the memories that are to be made in our new home. Such as reading with Misti’s (currently unborn) daughter in our house. Taking Vicki to the city park behind our backyard. Finding new running routes. Making s’mores on the deck out back. Celebrating Christmas with my family and Kyle’s. Having lots of parties!!

And the others, the hopes for this house. Bringing home our child to his or her new home. Coming home after I become Dr. Penny. Having all the rooms finally painted, lol.

All we have to do now is sign the papers.

6 comments:

misti said...

I cannot wait for the new house and the new chapter! And the parties...and now you've gone and mentioned s'mores, dangit.

Meredith said...

I totally understand! I know j and I probably won't live in this house forever, and MAN will I be sad to move someday!

Mari said...

There can be so many memories wrapped up in a house. I remember having a hard time leaving the house where our kids had been babies. But you are right - you have lots more memories to make!

Brooke said...

new things are so much fun. its hard to believe we've been in our current house for over year. the move sucked, sure. but its ours - the one we anticipate growing old together in, and that's worth something.

Brooke said...

ps - it also reminds me of the "drop dead diva" show i watched this weekend where the woman refused to move. everyone thought it was b/c she valued her husband's memory so much. in reality she'd killed him and buried him under the house! lol

sara said...

I know exactly how you feel. Our house in IN was the hardest to leave because it where the kids had most of their "firsts". But it is a new chapter...you will have GREAT memories of that house and even greater ones with the new one!!!