5.16.2011

Goodbye Home Sweet Home

Let's have a heart-to-heart.

Why?

Because I said so.

I know I said I'd never talk about anything negative or Debbie-downer related, but I think it'd be interesting to hear other perspectives about this particular life experience.


I said goodbye to my childhood home yesterday.

After four years of having the house on the market, my parents finally sold it. Saying goodbye was super difficult and I totally turned into a baby and cried in the front seat of the car while TF drove us out of town. It totally sucked. I'm never stepping into my room ever again.

I lived in this house from when I took my first baby steps up until I left for college, then I visited home every other month or so once I moved to Chicago. Over the past year, I have found that the only way for me to relax was to go home. Here, I couldn't worry about my job, cleaning my apartment or any other personal problems. Here, I could sit back and enjoy precious time with my family, nieces and nephew. It was pure bliss.


That's not to say we cannot create these memories and have a similar feeling elsewhere. However it won't be the same. There was a massive sense of comfort. I mean, it was my childhood home. I grew up there. Granted, it was far too large for my empty nesting parents, and my mom was practically jumping for joy in the streets when the house finally sold (after almost 4 years, understandably). She's a serious workaholic and doesn't know how to relax. Like mother, like daughter I guess. Been there, done that. ;)


All of this is also extremely interesting timing.

I am one of those people who thinks all things happen for a reason. If you've been living under a rock or just arrived at my blog, you may not know that TF and I are moving to Santa Monica in less than two weeks, and we're getting married in the summer of 2012. We're moving from Chicago and although we're moving because I'm taking on a fantastic opportunity I couldn't turn down, it's still a pretty large risk as TF hasn't secured a job yet and the area is far more expensive than the Midwest.


Why do I say everything happens for a reason? I said goodbye to my childhood home at the same time that TF and I are moving across the country. There, we'll take a giant step toward our future and create a new home together.
It's still a lot though. A lot. I'm excited, but slightly scared $h*tless. Thankfully though, I'll be experiencing this adventure with my best friend. Phew. I'm a lucky duck, huh?

Thanks Cottontail Lane for all the memories. It was far harder to say goodbye that I'd imagined. Have you have had to say goodbye to your childhood home?


3 comments:

jenn said...

aw - i bet that was sad. :( i am absolutely dreading the day my dad sells his house because that is the last place i remember my mom being. to me, it's her house & once it's gone...a piece of me goes with it. there is totally something about your childhood house that never leaves you. "the house that built me" makes me cry every time i hear it!

Tara @ Haute Lunch said...

It's really sad that you had to say goodbye to your childhood home, but I suppose it is better for your parents to move elsewhere. My parents couldn't really afford a house when I was a kid, so we lived either with my grandma, in an apartment, or in a small rental home for a while. They bought a house when I was a little older, and I know that would still be hard to see it go, so I'm sure it was heartbreaking for you. I'm sure wherever your parents move to, they will make it feel like home. :)

Pink in a sea of blue said...

I had to do this a few years ago. I cried like a baby, too (and I had a baby at the time!). I lived there from 2 until college and came home to visit. My parents gave me a framed pencil drawing of my home (by a local artist) that Christmas. Will treasure it always. And I still love driving to my old neighborhood to see my house full of memories. Good luck with your move!!