Bittersweet

The house is finally packed and the majority of our belongings (sans clothing, toiletries and important paperwork) are now sitting in a Pack Rat pod in the local storage facility.  We still have to rearrange some boxes in the container so we can pack several boxes of warm weather clothing, our plasma TV (which MUST sit upright the entire trip and be in a "protected" space) and anything else we won't be able to fit in the car, but thankfully we'll be able to work on this in the air conditioned Pack Rat facility.  It looks like we'll have to pull out many of the items towards the front to try and get to some space that's right smack in the middle.  It should be an interesting test of our combined "tetris" and packing skills.

With everything out of the house, it seems more and more like a shell and less like our home.  It's been a bittersweet process, with both of us excited about the future but still a little sad to be leaving the home we purchased thinking we would raise our children there and stay for the long haul.  It's such a cute home with so much potential, a tremendous backyard and in a quiet neighborhood convenient to all main roads.  We really loved that house, but only when it was our home, and now that's it's empty, it's much easier to leave.  It's still not easy, but easier, especially since we have something exciting to look forward to.  I thought we would cry a lot more than we have, and thought it would be more difficult than it actually was, so I'm happy it feels like we're beginning to move on and look forward, instead of looking back at all the "what if" scenarios.  The past 18 months have been difficult enough without continuing to harp on the past and things we can't change.  So, it's time to move on, and I'm so glad we both feel that way.  It's so nice to have something to look forward to together.

So, with that we say a bittersweet goodbye to our old home and hello to new adventures and better days ahead!