Preparing to Move is Bittersweet

We began packing the house in preparation for selling it and moving nearer to children and grandchildren. A realtor came on yesterday, and we hope to have the house on the market before the end of next week. He says that in our market, the house may sell within two weeks to a month, once it is on the market. I am amazed!

Douglas and I were one hundred percent convinced that when we moved into this house, it was our last move, until that final crossing. I have enjoyed living in this house, for it is in a peaceful and quiet neighborhood. It has been an oasis from the more public spaces that we have visited, and I found tears in my eyes at the thought of leaving it.

But, as two sixty-somethings, with most of our family a four-hour drive away, and with health issues looming on the horizon, hopefully not for another twenty years or more, we feel that being closer to our families is best. Douglas comes from a stolid background, accustomed to not getting over-excited about illness or sickness. But, even he wants to be available to the younger members of his family.

Of course, with my recent surgery to implant a defibrillator, all the directional signs for my children, especially my highly-excitable youngest daughter, was for us to live closer to everyone. So, one more move, one more up-rooting, and one more hunt for another place to nest in.

I would not have believed that I could feel so attached to an inanimate object like a house. But, we spent so much time making this house a home, as I pack up closets and bookcases, I feel as though I am losing an old friend. In our garden, the cucumbers are ripe already, with two on the counter awaiting my eager attention.

The tomatoes are green and getting plump, now that there is some needed rain, and I am hoping the green beans and strawberries will sprout at least once before we go. The bushes we planted in the front yard will bring joy to someone else’s face, and the three rose bushes near the mailbox will delight the noses of others who will sit on the porch in the evenings.

Our neighbors across the street, who looked after our home when we were traveling, taking in the mail and even mowing the grass, are sad to see us go. But as parents with small children, they hope that the new owners will have children near the same ages. I am not offended at all.

I, too, hope that the new owners will love this place as much as we have. I pray that they will find the same peace when sitting on the screened-in back porch. Douglas has made sure no more bird nests in the rafters, sealing up all the open spaces and adding lights, so people can remain outside late in the night, watching the June bugs alight and enjoying the cooling breezes.

Of course, if there are small children, they might just like having a bird nest above them. So, as we prepare to leave and as I am still healing, slowly but surely,, I will write a lot less and comment on even fewer posts. But, I want you to know that I value everything you write, chuckling at the witticisms or praying for your health and strength.

Fandango prompt is Percent. Ragtag prompt is Directional. Word of the Day is Public. Your Daily Prompt is Stolid.