Saying Goodbye.....

Anyone who has ever moved knows the feeling of excitement and sadness that surround you in the months and days preceding a move.  It is hard to wrap your brain around the fact that the house, friends and sometimes family that you will be leaving will be gone.  Sometimes you leave a house that you never, ever thought you would miss.  Sometimes you leave a community that you have grown to love and friends that you know beyond a shadow of a doubt will still be only a phone call away.  Then....you move.  

And that house that you hated everything about becomes the house that Sam grew 2 ft. in and gained a love for basketball.  The house that Grace started school in and lost a tooth on the bus ride home one day.  The house that Katey started high school, began dating and started driving in.  The house where tears have been shed, laughter has expounded from and new memories have been created to last a lifetime.  

My children have moved alot.  This house was not by any stretch their first house.  We have lived in 6 states and Sam and Katey have been to 7 schools.  But this house was the first were we lived out away from town by ourselves.  We have had room to roam and the freedom to grow as big of a garden as we chose.  We have had chickens that we were able to have eggs from and a doggy that loved chasing the wild cats around.  Not to mention the pheasants, deer  and raccoons that we have named because they are in our yard on an almost daily basis.  With this distance from town and the amount of traveling Jerry has done, has come a need for the kid's and I to get ourselves out of some sticky situations.  This last winter Katey thought her car could go through 4ft. drifts of snow and she managed to get it high centered.  But we used the skid loader, lifted up the front end a little and backed it out.  WE did it!  All the experiences we have gained from living here have helped me and my children to be more self reliant and more patient with one another.  We have also had to depend on each other. And for those lessons I will always hold a special place in my heart for this house.  


There have been some great learning moments too for Jerry and experiences that he has gleaned from living here.  Remodeling a kitchen that refused to be remodeled! Outdoor fun with the kids on the trampoline and 4-wheeler and pheasant hunting with Sam.  Our family room became a place to hang, play on the Wii and to just be quiet.  When our barn burnt down last year it was scary.  But we were so grateful that there wasn't any more damage done to other buildings.  We learned a lesson from that and know that we really liked having chickens.  I think we will have to get some more when we move :)


So, as I spend my time going from room to room sorting and packing, I stay just a little longer in each space.  Trying to make mental pictures to refer back on when I want to recall a memory of an instance when something was said or a laugh was shared.   I will miss this old house, as I know the rest of my family will also.  We have grown both independently and together here, which is all anyone can ask of a home.


"Having someplace to go is a home, having someone to love is a family, having both is a blessing."


I have been blessed.