We’re moving. It’s exciting and we can’t wait… but it’s also really sad.
This house has been ours since June of 2005. We moved in as newlyweds with no kids, no pets, and no idea what we were getting into. The neighborhood was different back then—mainly retirees and people who had owned the houses since they were built, with a few younger families mixed in. But make no mistake about it…we were the young kids on the block.
We quickly grew close to our immediate neighbor, Ethel, and Marc found himself helping out in any way that he could as she reminded him of his own grandmother who he had lost a few years prior. Ethel was a joy to be around—she told us stories of the neighborhood from years past, always listened to the Twins games on the radio while sitting in her chair in the front yard, and made the best chocolate cupcakes around because they were from scratch (“none of that box stuff”). And while she loved us, I always knew Marc was her favorite. When she would drop off treats and he wasn’t home she would always say, “Make sure you save some of those for Marc!”
We also got close to our neighbors across the street who had a young son (elementary-aged) with whom they would play games in their front yard. Marc and I loved to sit outside and watch them play. They always teased us that one day the roles would be reversed and that they would be the ones watching us. And what do you know…now that their son is off at college and our kids — specifically B — love to play catch or baseball or football or really ANYTHING in the front yard…that is, in fact, the case.
Over the years the neighborhood changed, just like our house. We made improvements and slowly turned our first house into our first home. All the while young couples and families moved in around us. 6 months after moving in we brought Copper home. 5 years after moving in we brought E home. 6 years after moving in we brought B home. Every “first day of school” and “last day of school” picture is from this house, this yard. Every birthday and holiday for the kids has been spent in this house. New neighbors came and went and some truly wonderful friendships were made. I went through a couple of career changes while living here including having a few years where I was lucky enough to have the children of two close friends spend their days with us as I was trying to figure out what was next for me professionally. Those were loud but incredibly special years for this house.
Our home has held our joy, sadness, laughter, fights, hopes, disappointments, and dreams for over 16 years. How do you tell that story fully? And how do you say goodbye to a home that almost your entire adult life has been spent in?
Yesterday we started getting our house ready to be listed for sale which involved getting rid of some things. One of those things was a chair that we bought right before baby E was born. And it’s that chair that really tells our story.
The chair started in our living room and we spent countless hours rocking, feeding, and begging our fussy newborn to go to sleep. Sometimes the chair worked its magic and put all who sat upon it to sleep.
When we had B, 11 months later, we decided to move the chair to his room where we also spent countless hours trying to get him to sleep. His problem was never getting to sleep, it was staying asleep…his mind just had too many exciting things to think about for sleep. A problem we still have with Mr. B.
As the kids grew that chair became our reading chair where sometimes we would read by ourselves and sometimes we would all cram into it for story time. We also decided that the chair belonged in our main living space so it got moved out of B’s room and into the living room.
And Copper…oh he loved cuddling. He had his favorite spots and they typically involved being near one (or more) of us on that chair.
Whenever Marc would work on the computer while sitting in the chair Copper would try to cram himself into the tightest little spot to be close to him. Sometimes it was squeezing in between Marc’s leg and the arm of the chair, sometimes it was laying on the arm of the chair, and sometimes it was cramming between his arm and his computer so he had to cradle Copper while typing. Some might say that doesn’t seem like an ideal work environment, but I can safely say we miss that.
It was in this chair that my last picture with Copper was taken. Copper’s entire life was spent in this house and that’s also a weird thing to think about as we get ready to move.
It took us a while after Copper to even think of another dog. But once Luna came into our lives we knew it was the right time and the right pup. And what would you know—she also loved the chair.
She loves to sit with us while we read, work, watch TV, or just hang out. She’s a little different from Copper in that she prefers the footrest area and doesn’t have that need to be as.close.as.humanly.possible like Copper did but she’s still close by. Always ready to remind you when it’s time to get up and play with her by dropping her ball on your keyboard.
From newborns to quarantine to all the times between, the chair has been there, supporting whoever sat down upon its cushions.
Yesterday we gave it up. In a few more weeks we’ll move out of our house and start a new adventure. I hope that whoever moves in feels the love that occupied this house and fills it with their own memories.
And their own special chair.
