It's moving day, and I have to admit it's a bittersweet day. I'm a sentimental person, and I've always been a homebody. Combine the two, and you have someone who's sad to leave behind so many memories. A house is more than just a house, to me...it becomes a piece of your soul, and it's where you live out so many of life's big moments. With that said...
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It was here that Rob asked me to marry him...one cold November night, out on the patio after he cooked us a nice dinner.
It was here that we returned after we were married...as a wedding gift, my parents worked with one of their interior decorator friends, turning it from bachelor pad into a home for a newly married couple. What a surprise to return from our honeymoon to a house that felt like it was not only Rob's, but mine too.
It was here that I studied for my boards, and it was here that I found out I passed...I was officially a registered nurse!
I was living here when I started my first job out of nursing school, on the oncology floor at Baptist Hospital.
It was here that I worried and prayed for my Dad, as he underwent his first bone marrow transplant, to hopefully cure his lymphoma.
It was here that I returned after Rob and I had dinner with my parents one January night, to celebrate the birthdays of both Rob and my Dad...there we also celebrated my Dad's 100 days...a day that marks the return of "normalcy" for the transplant patient. A big day to celebrate.
It was in this house that I found out my Dad was cancer-free...and was ready to return to work full-time. What a gift.
It was in this house that I cried for my first patient. She was young, too young, and had no family or loved ones, really. She came from nothing and had virtually nothing. I came home one night and sorted through Rob's clothes looking for things for her to wear in the hospital and when she got out. She liked baggy, masculine clothes, and I loaded up a garbage bag of things to take her. I can still see her wearing Rob's camouflage shorts as she walked down the hall of the hospital to go outside to smoke. It was to this house that I returned each night, wondering why I had so much when there were so many in this world, like her, who had so little.
It was here that I found out we were expecting our first baby...one of the best days of my life, finding out that big news.
It was in this house that we turned our guest bedroom into a room for our baby girl...what an exciting time!
It was through these doors that we left, not knowing what it was going to be like to be parents, only to return a few days later with a baby in our arms, completely clueless but giddy nonetheless.
It was here that I took on the late night feedings...I'd sit on the couch in the dark in our living room, feeding Lily her bottle and gazing up at the dark night sky through our dining room window. Many nights I saw a sliver of the moon shining in that window, and I watched as the tree outside went from naked in February to green buds in April.
It was here where we experienced all of Lily's firsts! First baby food, crawling, first word (Dada), first steps...
It was here that we celebrated Lily's first birthday...and later her second, third, and fourth!
It was here that I found out I was pregnant with our second baby...again, one of the best days of my life!
It was here that we turned our dining room into a playroom...a space for our kids was much more important than a space for our fine china!
It was here that Rob painted his office a light shade of pink, in preparation for our second baby girl.
It was here that I woke up early one morning, the morning we were to go in for my C-section...and I sat on the couch wondering if I would make it, my contractions were so strong!
It was here that we returned with our baby Hadley. And it was here that we gave Lily a little sister.
It was here that I took on the role of being a mom to two little ones...it was much harder than I realized it would be!
It was here that I took on the late night feedings once again...I'd sit on the couch in the dark in our living room, feeding Hadley her bottle and gazing up at the dark night sky through our dining room window. Only this time the view was different. I watched as the tree outside went from a bright yellow in October to naked in January. That tree and I became good friends.
It was here that I found out my Dad had relapsed. I remember going into Hadley's room and closing the door. I sat in her glider and cried until there were no tears left.
It was here that I felt like life was entirely too unfair.
It was here that I returned after visiting my Dad in the hospital, time and time again, praying for healing...praying for peace for all of us as we watched him endure the beast that is cancer.
It was here that I sat one morning when I received a text from my Mom that read, "Pop is back." He had woken up from a near comatose state and told my mom he wanted to see his babies (Lily and Hadley). Praise God.
It was here that I opened the blinds only a few minutes after I received that text message, only to see the most incredible sunrise I'd ever seen. Tears of complete joy and gratitude followed.
It was here that we witnessed all of Hadley's firsts...true to form, most came a little earlier than her big sister's.
It was here that we saw Lily and Hadley become best friends...I am so thankful that they have one another.
It was here that we celebrated Hadley's first and second birthdays.
It was here that Rob and I celebrated our first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth anniversaries of being married!
It was here that Rob and I laughed until we cried, learned more about one another, argued (yes, we do argue!), discussed serious things, made big decisions, discussed plenty of not-so-serious things, and really grew as individuals and as a married couple.
It was here that we sat out on the deck, watching the trees on the Natchez Trace change colors in the fall and gain new leaves in the spring. It's always been one of my favorite views.
It was here that we had a near front-row view to see the Reservoir's fireworks shows every Fourth of July and New Year's Eve.
It was here that I spent many a beautiful day outside on the deck with my girls. We painted, blew bubbles, played chase, and laughed...a lot.
There has been a lot of laughter in this house. There have been a lot of tears. We have experienced all the highs and lows of this great life here. I pray that it will contain much of the same for the person or family who one day lives here. It's been more than a house...it's been our home, our life, and I'm going to miss it.
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