We have been crying for days. This is all happening faster than we planned – but that’s how life works – it comes in waves.
We put our house up for sale today.
This has been one of the hardest decisions of our lives. We have our dream house, that we’ve completely made our own, in our hometown and less than a mile from grandparents. That should be enough.
We’ve quite literally replaced or refinished every square inch of the touchable surfaces. Flooring, ceilings, walls, countertops & cabinets. It’s all ours. Every lightswitch, outlet, faceplate. We removed walls. Moved doors. Replaced the entire heating & cooling system – ductwork included. Replumbed most of the house. Other than the roof, it’s a new house.
Ever since coming home from our epic RV trip, we’ve been contemplating a move. To a warmer climate. We learned that weather is a choice – and learning that changed our lives. I remember sitting outside on Christmas Day 2017 and calling my parents. I was in my swimming suit and it was 78 degrees. Looking back, that’s the moment I subconsciously realized that cold doesn’t have to be endured.
Back to the house – we’ve made it our own. Somewhere along the way in our more basic renovation, we started spending more and becoming more ambitious. The basement is the epitome of that shift. We replaced all of the electrical system – rewired the basement from scratch. Moved the utility room, replacing all of the ductwork, to make a 5th bedroom. Got rid of an ugly steel beam in the middle of the basement living room. Added a closet under the stairs. We had chalk lines all over the bare cement floor as we figured out, to the inch, where we wanted doors & walls.
This isn’t just a house. This is our masterpiece. It’s our biggest work of art. We’ve spent 8 years pouring our time, heart, blood, sweat, tears, and money into it. We took our kids home from the hospital here. We’ve experienced the best and worst of the last 8 years here.
But we need to make a change. We crave warm weather – and while it’s selfish of us to leave our family & friends – now is the right time for our little family.
Adelaide is learning virtually, so her first time attending physical school and making real, physical friends can be done elsewhere. She doesn’t have school friends just yet. She’ll be leaving her neighborhood friends and friends whose parents we’ve known forever, to be clear, but they don’t/won’t go to her school.
Emerson is also learning remotely – but leaving preschool friends aren’t as big of a concern. He really doesn’t have many friends yet – again, neighborhood friends and kids of our friends, which makes his transition a bit smoother.
Look, Karissa and I grew up in this town. I walked by the back of this house every time I played the public golf course – and as a kid, that was quite often. My high school classmate grew up in this house. Karissa grew up on the same street, same side of the street, just 50 houses south. We both have childhood friends in town. My parents live less than a mile away. We played volleyball with longtime friends twice a week. We’re giving up so much in this change.
But again, it’s the right time for us. It’s a hard change. This house isn’t just a property. This is a physical representation of the last 8 years of our life. Our creative outlet. And we get to live in our masterpiece every day that we’re here.
I tried to write a letter to the (potential) new owners and couldn’t make it past the first paragraph. We’ve changed too much to explain in anything less than a novel. And thinking about it makes leaving that much harder. This house has our hearts. If we could move it, our friends & family, and our town – we’d do it in a heartbeat.
Who knows? Maybe we’ll pull the plug on this whole notion of moving and stay forever. This house, our masterpiece, has that much weight in our being.