A House and Things

 Over the past few months, I've had a strange (or not strange) awareness about our home and possessions.  Since we had such a quick turnaround from deciding to put it up for sale and then selling it, and then a quick realization that we would not be moving our things to another home, but getting rid of many of them, I've been mourning it a little but.  I feel a little like we had just recently gotten most everything the way we liked it, and a collection of things that were our favorites, and now we have to start fresh again.   

 Things like our storage ottoman that hides away toys, with no sharp edges for a child to cut their head on if they slip, and reversible tray tops that serve as cushions for kid sitting, or trays for living room dining.

A comfy, overstuffed, rocker/recliner.  Great for a fussy newborn, sleepy dad and nursing mom.

Turning our red rampage bathroom into a calm happy gray.  (You know I love my gray.) 

I had just figured out how to turn our "dark" living room into a bright living room.  

It was a multi-stage process of experimenting and discovery.  Lighter-colored and thinner blinds that could be pulled back to completely uncover the windows, and removing the section of the couch that sat in front of the window.  Suddenly that room has the best light in the house.

Painting and re-painting.  Yellow kitchen into blue kitchen.   

A junk room, into an office, into craft room, into a nursery. (2nd and 4th are the only ones pictured.)

An infrequently used guest room into a frequently used craft/work room that also houses our guests. 

A blank slate back porch into a warm weather hang out and play area.

I know it might sound grumpy or trivial, but there is a part of me that is really sad to be getting rid of this house and our stuff.  We have been gradually making this house our home over the past 4 years, and I'm sad that many of the things that we feel like we finally got just right will be left behind.

I am excited about what lies ahead.  It will be fun to buy new things and set up a new home for our new life under new circumstances.  My tastes and ideas seem to be constantly evolving and I often finish a project thinking that if I had to do it all over again I would have gone in a completely different direction, so it will be interesting to see how it turns out.

But with all of the new going on, I am sad about the end of the old.  An old that I loved, was comfortable, made me happy, and felt like home.