Saying Goodbye- Rolling on

I love this house. I have always loved this house. When we first had it built, we picked out the floor plan, the paint colors, the color of the rugs, the floors, the counters, the siding, the shutters... then as our Family grew we were able to expand the house, adding on a huge addition. Again we designed it and picked out the colors. All of the landscaping was done by our hands. Iris' from our Neighbors house growing up on Stoddard St. that went from Northampton to Gaithersburg with my Oma when she came to visit, then made their way back up here after we went to visit her one Easter. We now call them Oma Iris' and they have taken over every place that they have been planted. (If you knew my Oma, you would understand.)

10 years is a long time to live somewhere. A lot has happened here. We were building it when our first child was born, she spent her first Christmas here. The rest of our kids were all brought home to this house. They learned to walk on these floors, they learned to ride bikes in the driveway and catch frogs in the yard. I know every little creak that this house makes, I can tell you who is running around upstairs based on their footsteps. All of the stories, the parties, the birthdays, holidays and the firsts for our kids took place here.

How can you say good-bye to someplace that has been so good to you and your family? Every crayon mark on the wall and every stain on the carpet tells a story about my kids. How can we say goodbye especially knowing that once we leave, it will be empty. Its almost like we are abandoning it, no new owners, no new memories. It will sit here until the company can sell it, and who knows when that will be.

I am sad to leave this place. My house, our home. I think its finally started to sink in that we really are moving. The movers came today with their huge truck to scope the place out. They will be here bright and early tomorrow morning.

I told myself that I am not going to cry, but who am I kidding? I'll cry like I did the time I put Alex on the school bus for her first day of Kindergarten. And once I am done crying, then maybe after crying some more, I will finally be 100% ready to start the new chapter in our lives. New house, new home, new memories, new stories, new friends, new parties.... I think I am ready. As Jim says. This is what we do, we blaze trails. First to get married, first to have babies, first to buy a house, and now first to move their family away. And as he puts it... "this is how we roll.' Roll on and on. Rolling on.