Moving is something I know a LOT about! We moved six times throughout my childhood. Those moves represented more than just a new home. They meant a new town, new schools, and making new friends - hard things to get used to when you're young, but they changed the story of my life in so many ways.
At 19 years old I left the family nest to set out on my own. And then I moved and moved and moved over the years. Thirteen years later I am getting ready to move for the 16th time in my life! Once upon a time people would live and die in the same town or even same house. We are so transient these days...
Moving has always been hard, but has come with such great adventure and memories as well. And every time I move I laugh thinking back on how far I've come.
I can still remember the look on my now husband, then boyfriend's face when he showed up at our family farm to help me move out of my parents house. He probably expected that I didn't have too much stuff, he probably assumed that I would be fully packed with my belongings in boxes - ready to go. He was shocked to see shopping bag after shopping bag filled with books and trinkets and clothes, tons of furniture crammed into one small room and me happily sitting in the middle of it all about halfway done with my packing... Poor guy was such a trooper and just laughed at me and jumped in to help.
When we got married we had both been living in separate community houses with friends from church. Before our wedding we found an apartment that we would move into together when we returned from our honeymoon. They were still fixing up the apartment when we left for Mexico so we asked a dear friend if she would be willing to get the keys for us while we were gone so we could move right in when we flew home. She picked us up at the airport and dropped us off at our new place - coming in for a minute to say welcome home. The community had surprised us and moved all of our stuff in and even went so far as to make the bed, stock the fridge and set up the living room! So amazingly unexpected... We felt so loved!
Cooking together in our first kitchen.
Our next move was in the heat of summer and I was 7 months pregnant with our little bug. I had just quit my day job and was only nannying one or two nights a week. Super hot, super pregnant I call one night to say I'm on my way home. We are supposed to move into our new place the next day, but my hubby says - "hey stop by the new house so we can figure out where we want to put things tomorrow." I was so tired he had to really convince me and for some reason I never suspected anything, but when I walked in the door all of our stuff was already there. He had gathered the community together and had them help move us in while I was at work! The bed was made and the apartment was in the basement of a house so it was super cool and refreshing...
Trying to muster some energy post-move to decorate the nursery.
We had the help of our community and family once again this past weekend as we piled everything into the U-Haul and moved back across town. Our house is in livable condition, but once everyone left that first night I might have had a major moment of panic set in as I realized - this is OUR house - it is crammed with our belongings, it is still dusty from the construction we have been doing, there is no place to cook a hot meal, it is more than a little overwhelming how much we have to do to get it back in shape. But it is OURS!
Such a lovely office/playroom don't you think?? The catch-all room until we rebuild the garage. Yikes!
When I lived with my family, moving included horses and various other animals, farm equipment and a house full. SO much work! Now I feel overwhelmed moving our small home - I can't even imagine what my mom must have been feeling during all that packing and unpacking. My dream is for us to find a home within the next 5 years or less that we would love to raise our family in and plant some roots.
Many of the moves I've made over the years have felt life changing and like a rite of passage and this last one certainly feels like a huge moment. We are in our OWN home. No more renting, no more feeling like you can't totally make a place your own. What a fun, long, sometimes exhausting journey to get to this day...
At 19 years old I left the family nest to set out on my own. And then I moved and moved and moved over the years. Thirteen years later I am getting ready to move for the 16th time in my life! Once upon a time people would live and die in the same town or even same house. We are so transient these days...
Moving has always been hard, but has come with such great adventure and memories as well. And every time I move I laugh thinking back on how far I've come.
I can still remember the look on my now husband, then boyfriend's face when he showed up at our family farm to help me move out of my parents house. He probably expected that I didn't have too much stuff, he probably assumed that I would be fully packed with my belongings in boxes - ready to go. He was shocked to see shopping bag after shopping bag filled with books and trinkets and clothes, tons of furniture crammed into one small room and me happily sitting in the middle of it all about halfway done with my packing... Poor guy was such a trooper and just laughed at me and jumped in to help.
When we got married we had both been living in separate community houses with friends from church. Before our wedding we found an apartment that we would move into together when we returned from our honeymoon. They were still fixing up the apartment when we left for Mexico so we asked a dear friend if she would be willing to get the keys for us while we were gone so we could move right in when we flew home. She picked us up at the airport and dropped us off at our new place - coming in for a minute to say welcome home. The community had surprised us and moved all of our stuff in and even went so far as to make the bed, stock the fridge and set up the living room! So amazingly unexpected... We felt so loved!
Cooking together in our first kitchen.
Our next move was in the heat of summer and I was 7 months pregnant with our little bug. I had just quit my day job and was only nannying one or two nights a week. Super hot, super pregnant I call one night to say I'm on my way home. We are supposed to move into our new place the next day, but my hubby says - "hey stop by the new house so we can figure out where we want to put things tomorrow." I was so tired he had to really convince me and for some reason I never suspected anything, but when I walked in the door all of our stuff was already there. He had gathered the community together and had them help move us in while I was at work! The bed was made and the apartment was in the basement of a house so it was super cool and refreshing...
Trying to muster some energy post-move to decorate the nursery.
We had the help of our community and family once again this past weekend as we piled everything into the U-Haul and moved back across town. Our house is in livable condition, but once everyone left that first night I might have had a major moment of panic set in as I realized - this is OUR house - it is crammed with our belongings, it is still dusty from the construction we have been doing, there is no place to cook a hot meal, it is more than a little overwhelming how much we have to do to get it back in shape. But it is OURS!
Such a lovely office/playroom don't you think?? The catch-all room until we rebuild the garage. Yikes!
When I lived with my family, moving included horses and various other animals, farm equipment and a house full. SO much work! Now I feel overwhelmed moving our small home - I can't even imagine what my mom must have been feeling during all that packing and unpacking. My dream is for us to find a home within the next 5 years or less that we would love to raise our family in and plant some roots.
Many of the moves I've made over the years have felt life changing and like a rite of passage and this last one certainly feels like a huge moment. We are in our OWN home. No more renting, no more feeling like you can't totally make a place your own. What a fun, long, sometimes exhausting journey to get to this day...
2 comments :
Beautiful Sarah. Everywhere you go, you always make it a warm, loving home. This will be no exception. Love you sweet girl.
Hello Sarah. I am Lili and I was brwsing thru' Fat Mum Slim blog to see the daily pics challenge for March. I couldn't help reading your post and laughing and smiling all the way. I was in such a journey myself and now I am where I can call home. Once I am done with the re-org of the house after living 6 years, I think I can out my legs up. Now I am more into Decluttering.
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