"Saying Goodbye is never an easy thing, but we never said, we'd stay forever..."

So my last day of work is scheduled to be October 30^th and our plan is to head South soon after.  It’s funny because that is my older brother’s last day of work before he is retiring and living part time down South as well.  Also October 30 is my younger brother’s birthday.  I was thinking about all of this earlier today then also realized that it was on October 31st of 2002 when we closed on the smaller house we are living in now.  I remember that day so clearly.  Our friends videotaped us coming into the house and spent the night up in the finished attic area.  It was Halloween so we could hear trick-or-treaters out on the streets in the evening and just the feeling of it being OUR house!  I had only lived in apartments after moving out of my childhood house and this was now going to be OUR HOME.

The house had wall to wall carpeting and the entire downstairs was a putting green color.  The house was built in the 1920s and the cracks from the walls settling were all over the walls and ceiling.   We later did a knockdown treatment on the walls and ceilings and tore up the carpet and put down hard wood looking laminate.  I loved having a basement as I have never been a fan of tornados and bad storms and we eventually turned it into a little theatre room.   I loved the little finished attic upstairs.  It has a window facing the backyard and always felt like a little getaway tree house.   We didn’t allow the pets up there and so it was always felt like we snuck away when we would sleep up there.  The temperature was never very stable, so it could only be used in the Spring and Fall, but I would place a space heater up there play Holiday songs and wrap Christmas gifts in December. 

When we got married a couple years later we lived in this house and when I came home and Adam had bought me a little puppy for Christmas, it was in this house.  Even though we only lived in it for 4 years before we started renting it out and have only been back in it for a matter of months, I will truly miss this little house.  It is sturdy and asks for little maintenance.  It has sheltered us through many storms and served as my audience when I was practicing for singing engagements as well as taught me many  home improvement skills as we took steps to give it a face lift.  I cannot even remember how many times I have painted these walls both for us and in between renters.  The yard isn’t big but it’s fenced and has kept my dogs safely enclosed from puppyhood to now old age. 

It’s funny how when we first moved in it, it felt big then it got smaller as we accumulated stuff and after moving back after the largest part of our purge, felt big again.  Even the bathtub which is smaller than standard length but extra deep, used to feel so cramped and now, knowing I am unsure when I will get to take my next bath after we move into the RV, I cherish each moment in the warm bubbly water.

I can only hope the next family who lives here appreciates its understated beauty.  Its sturdy walls that keep you tucked safely inside and the back patio and front covered porch that offer you a nice quiet window on the neighborhood.  I wish you well, little blue house.  I pray you stay standing for a long time and are treated as much love and care as you provided us.