Thursday, October 29, 2015

Memories, The Heart Of Our Home




Have you ever had something so monumental to tell that you had to wait, until you could get it just right?

Well, I have one of those things to tell. I hope I do it justice because to me, it is very monumental.

Rumors run rampant, sometimes, in our little town. Sometimes, they take on a life of their own. There are many, many things I love about Andrews, but the spreading of rumors is the one thing that I've always hated. So before the rumors start, I would like to tell the story.

If, perhaps, you have heard rumors that Cliff and I have sold our home and are moving from Andrews, then for once.....that rumor is true.

I have lived in Andrews for 49 years and Cliff has lived there his whole life. We've gone to school there, worked there, married there, had children there. We've raised our family there and our grandchildren were born there. Our mothers and most of my siblings still live there. And through the years, we have made so many memories there. We still love Andrews. It will always be home. But, there comes a time when you get to a crossroads and have to make a decision whether to stay or to go. For Cliff and I, the decision was to go.

When Whitney and Jason moved to Denver and when Emily and the children moved to the upstate, the decision got real easy. We wanted to be closer to our grandchildren and when we found the lake house, I knew it would only be a matter of time.  We didn't know when, but we knew the move was coming.

Having said that, I was caught completely off guard when this sweet young lady texted me and said that she had heard it through the grapevine that Cliff and I might be interested in selling our home and asked if it were true. It was true to some extent, but we had not been thinking about it for some time and we definitely had not been trying to sell. But that day, just a couple of months or so ago, we began a conversation and it ended with us selling our house to this wonderful young couple. I couldn't be happier for them. I know they will be great caretakers of our house and will love it and enjoy it, just as we did. I know they will make many memories there, just as we did.

I'm not gonna lie......I get so emotionally attached to things!  Although the decision to sell was easy and even though I know it's time to move on and start this new chapter, I am having a hard time leaving. Every thing I pack and every box I stow, there is a memory. Every cabinet I empty and every corner I clean, there is a memory. I look at the rocking chair and see myself rocking our grandbabies to sleep. I look at the floors and see my grandchildren crawling on them. I look at my kitchen sink and see the times I stood there washing dishes and Cliff sneaking up behind me to scare the bejeebies out of me. I look at the stairs and remember sneaking up them to listen to Emily and her friends as they sat on her bed and had girl talk. I remember when Whitney's science project went bad and she threw up on the same stairs. I still see red paint on the telephone pole out back from where Emily backed her car into it, not long after getting her driver's license. I still see Whitney getting ready for prom and having her picture made with her granddaddy with his arms wrapped proudly around her. I still see every Christmas tree, every meal, every family event spent there. I still see Whitney and her friend, Sarah, swinging in the hammock while eating watermelon. I still see Billy, the goat, as Emily caught him and held him by the horns to teach him a lesson in who or who not to head butt. I still see Lidia running to the barn, rope in hand, because she was going to lasso the horses. I still see Sawyer lying flat of his belly in the dirt watching ants crawl around. I still see Abbie, our lab, as she ran the perimeter of the property when we returned home as if to say....."It's safe, I've made it safe for you to live here." And safe it has been.....our sanctuary, our place of calm in troubled waters, our place of joy and laughter, our heart.....our home.

We will miss our home and Andrews so much! I can't even count the times I've broken down and cried over it. But, like I've said.....it's time to move on. I will take all the memories and love for this place with me. And I will come to love and make more memories down the road.

This is our last day as residents of Andrews. Today, we close this chapter and head on down that road. We have, for years now, been enjoying our little place at the beach and will continue to do so. And we have our place at the lake, as well. We will be living between the two, until........


Laurie


12 comments:

  1. Aw, Laurie, God bless you. What wonderful memories you have created there and that is the one thing they can never take away from you! I know moves like that are bittersweet. My whole family was born and raised in one place--most of my cousins moved to adjacent farms in the mountains...and then I married my hubby and we have lived in 16 or 17 homes in the years we have been married. I have rehabbed 15 houses (and we rented a couple of times until we could find a house). Each of my kids thinks of a different house as "home"...and all except my youngest son have moved several times, too. Really, wherever YOU are will be home to your kids and grandkids

    This is the longest we have ever been anywhere- over 10 years and I think I might have one more rehab in me as we downsize to something more manageable.

    I am so glad you sold your home to someone that will love it like you have...they will make their own sweet memories their as they make that HOUSE their HOME...just as you will do in your new place.

    Blessings and hugs- Diana

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    1. Thank you Diana for your comforting and wise words. I think it might take a little bit for the lake to feel like home. Our beach place already does. My daughter just posted another memory on Facebook and I boohoo'd again. But, you are right...I will learn to love some place else and make great memories there.

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  2. I grew up in Chicago and my Mom still lives in the house my Dad built in 1951. I know she'll be there till the end of her time and it's a comfort to know the house will then belong to my Sister who's been taking care of Mom and living with her for the last 8yrs. However, all my other siblings have recently moved from the Chicago area. I've lived in Ashland, Ohio since 1977 and was the first to move away from the big city. It's weird to think my Mom and Sis are the last ones there! We've been thinking of downsizing lately. Not sure when we'll do it but I sure understand your reasons for doing so. I know you'll be happy wherever you are because having family around makes it "home". Good luck with the move and I hope your memories are the treasures that will never move away!

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    1. Thank you so much, YaYa! I've heard it more times than not that you take your memories with you and I know it's true, but I'll sure miss all that brick and mortar. A little advice, if you're thinking of downsizing.....start now paring down your belongings. When you've lived for years and years in the same house, you accumulate so much and it will take a lot of time to go through and decide what to let go.

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  3. How very exciting...it was just meant to be! But I can see why this is bittersweet...I would be the same way! We built out house three years before our first baby was born and have lived in it ever since...lots and lots of memories here! I hope you enjoy this new adventure...so fun, too! I wondered if you would be living at the lake house or somewhere else. So, the little place at the beach? I think I thought that and the lake house were one and the same!

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    1. I think it was meant to be, too. I can look back and see how everything has just fallen into place. Girl, let me just tell you, those memories will put you over the top. Oh, no the little place at the beach is in Myrtle Beach. And the lake house is on Lake Greenwood in the upstate. What may have confused is that there is a very small lake across the road from us at the beach, too.

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  4. Closing one chapter, and starting another...think of all the memories yet to be made, in your new place. Wishing you an easy move, that's gentle on your heart, my friend. XOXO

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    1. Thank you so much, Tanya! Oh yeah, may be going to your old stomping grounds for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

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  5. Oh, my goodness! What a lovely tribute you wrote not only to your home in Andrews but to your memories. A wise person you are to realize there are different stages of our lives and there are times when changes are the right thing to do. How wonderful it must be for you and Cliff to be turning your house over to a young couple who you know will make it as much of a home as you have. Your transition to the next place, wherever that may turn out to be, will be so much easier since you already have made a home (two homes!) elsewhere. Best wishes to you both.

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words, Mama Pea. You've summed it up perfectly.

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  6. Well....look at you Miss Laurie!
    How exciting! Best wishes to you...
    We have talked about downsizing for years!
    We even had a contractor out to the cottage....tear down and build a permanent home...
    Couldn't go thru with it!
    You are so lucky to have 2 options!
    OMG! Can't wait for your first post from the Lake House!
    Hope you had an easy move...
    Take care my friend!
    Cheers!
    Linda :o)

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    1. Well Glory! We actually talked about the same thing....tearing down the lake house and building new. I couldn't do it either. I will just keep working in the lake house, making it my own. I have a painter coming tomorrow to give me a quote to paint all the rooms. There's lots I would love to do. Loved your pictures from your lake this weekend!

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