My 2 Second Shelf Life

"A chair is still a chair, even when there's no one sittin' there
But a chair is not a house and a house is not a home..."

The Mister and me are moving.
We've bought another house, and will be selling this one very soon.

Tonight, The Mister strung up the lights under our tent in the backyard, and we sat out there over dinner on this beautiful evening, talking.
...and I realized that this is probably our last summer in this house, if things go the way that we plan.

We're getting prepared to leave and we've been cleaning things out and deciding what stays and what goes. I see that it's these times when you're forced to look at what you've packed away and not thought about.

Tonight, I found the reciept for our wedding rings, the children's old report cards, the deed to this house, ...our first house...and I'm meloncholy.

While I like the new house that we've got our hearts set on, this house holds so very much of our lives...even the estate agent we're using is the same man who brought us to this house, and we've reminisced about that experience with him...kept in touch with the previous owner, Patrick over the years, an endearing man who loved this house as much as we do.

When we first came here, the kids were so used to living in an apartment, that they couldn't get used to the freedom to come and go. They would run out to the backyard and back in minutes later. Out the front door...and back in a few minutes...it took them weeks to stay outside, and play on the street or go to the park...to get used to the freedom.

Our neighbours have been good. We've been lucky.

Is it normal to feel this way about leaving?
I know I will cry when we say good-bye to this pile bricks.
It is our first house.
Our first stab at being grown ups.

This house holds a lot of emotion for me.
I can only hope that the new owners love it as much as we have.