Andy and I relinquished homeownership yesterday morning. For the next few weeks, our assets actually exceed our liabilities, so we will enjoy that status while we can (seriously, though...isn't homeownership a little overrated when you think about it that way?).
Saturday the movers came and moved all our stuff into two 16' x 8' x 8' PODS. You know me and my sleep habits. I definitely devoted about 3 hours of lost sleep to fretting over whether or not all of the contents of our house would fit into them. They did, though, and with plenty of room to spare. Once you sign up for your PODS online, you're directed to a site with a list of movers they're associated with, so luckily you get access to people who know how to pack the things efficiently.
(not at all an eyesore)
Sunday I spent the day giving the house a final clean. If you think your house is clean, move out of it. Your house is not clean. You are, in fact, living in squalor.
I cleaned that place cleaner than it ever was for us, though. I partially did it so that the new residents would have a clean house to move into, and I partially did it as one last final tribute to my sweet home.
Seriously. I was mopping my kitchen floor and listening to something Pandora plays for me often while running the route that I am leaving behind when it just hit me. I cried and cried. That was 8 1/2 years of memories that we left behind. We bought it when we were 23 and 24 within the first year that we were married. For the most part, we haven't really experienced the "being married" thing and definitely not the "being parents" thing anywhere else.
Don't get me wrong - I am SUPER excited for the next chapter. Like bursting out of my skin excited. But still. It's hard to say goodbye to something that has been so much a part of us, whether we realized it at the time or not. You know how it goes.
It's interesting walking into closing and meeting the person you're turning your home over to. Based on the name, I had a mental picture of who was buying it. I wasn't far off. It's a nice Vietnamese couple probably in their mid-20's (not much older than we were when we bought it) who are expecting their first child in a couple months. I am glad that someone else will get to bring their baby home to it. I'd hate to have turned it over to someone who planned on renting it out immediately or something like that.
I apologize for the moving overshare. I know I've talked about it a lot on the blog, on Facebook, and on Instagram. Hopefully it hasn't been totally obnoxious or braggy. We're not moving into a Southern Living model home or your dream home or even ours, but rather a home and neighborhood that has everything that we need and want for our family, no more, no less. It's just a Big Thing Going On Right Now.
In other news, I thought I'd mention that we're registering Liam for Kindergarten at the public school next year. I don't want to share that because I want to make public all the reasons for it but rather because I am so surprised by the reaction I've received from anyone I've told. I was expecting people to look at me funny, but I've heard about 20 times either "oh, we did that, and it was the best decision we ever made" or "we didn't hold so-and-so back, and we've regretted it ever since." I have heard it SO many times. It's so reassuring, and I know we are doing the right thing.
It's not an intellect thing, just a confidence and maturity thing. He's learned SO MUCH this year. We're hoping that one more year of K, where he knows more than most kids in his class, will give him a boost of confidence and a firmer footing, and thus a love for (I'd even settle for "tolerance of") learning. I'm even more grateful that he's in the Kindergarten program he is right now because next year he may learn essentially the same things but in a different format so he doesn't pick up on the fact that he is doing K again.
Anyway - I mostly share that in case anyone else is on the fence about Kindergarten decisions for next year. It's the feedback I've received from others that helps so much in confirming that it's the right choice. I hope my passing it along can be helpful to someone.
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