remember your wellies

today we moved out. yep, gathered up all we owned, sorted, boxed, and threw it in a van/trailer combo and threw it once again into my parent’s basement. to say the least, it was filled with complete gratitude to our parents for the sheer ability to come and tackle a huge job. it was also filled with sadness of realizing this was my, and then chris and my, first real home outside of our parent’s.

in this rickety house i lived alone for 3 months. i met new people who lived with me and loved it. i got engaged, my grandfather passed away and i wept at the kitchen table. this house brought new creativity, new responsibility, and intense love to repair and renew it’s old bones. in this house i found a neighborhood to love, i became a more healthy person, and cared for many old things.

my first night as a wife was spent in this house, we left for our honeymoon from this house. this house witnessed it’s share of tears, of fear, and of anxiety. i owned my first animal in this house, and developed love for a small creature here. this house brought about home ownership issues, it leaked, it’s a little out of square, it creaks, and sometimes smells just plain musty. but this house, the house i bought on “clearance” has become home. it has been home to my husband and i, to our small cat, and to friends who have passed through it’s door.

tomorrow new people will call this place home. this is a hard concept to swallow given that as of today, we don’t have a plan for tomorrow. our tenants have a move in date, but we don’t have a leave grand rapids date. we are fortunate to have friends who are housing us with love and generosity, but our days in this home are on hold for now. i know this is right, we’re chasing our dreams, and this home does not define us, but i will miss it.

so, as i sit here eating cold pizza on a paper towel because everything else is packed safely away, i am grateful for this home. for it’s fits and calms, for it’s imperfections. and our adventure will continue outside of this house and maybe an apartment on the west coast will become home.