A dear friend once told me that when she came home and saw the baseboards were up in the house, she would turn to her parents and say, "We're moving again?"
That was the finishing touch, the one thing that said, "It's complete."
I know that feeling- though not as a child. Right now, all those things we meant to do but never did- all those things we started and never finished, those are getting done.
As I paint and paint and my husband fixes and mends and builds, I realize how spectacular the house will be- and then we will move. And not into just any house- we will move into a house that is in far worse shape and far larger than any house we have ever had. This is an undertaking that has me shaking in my boots with a mixture of anticipation to get colors up on the walls and anticipation of the long hours of hard work to get those same colors up- as well as the myriad of other projects waiting for me.
As we live out of duffle bags and pack up the last of our dishes, I look around at the home we have created these past years. I can see the place where my daughter stood at two for a photo shot or where my son still a little boy, pogo sticked his way down the street. So many memories made here and so many waiting to be made and I try so hard to find the balance between the two. I tend to glorify the past and I don't want to glorify, but honor, remember and move forward. Such a challenge at times.
So, the baseboards are up, the closet that was never painted is painted, the little odds and ends in the kitchen are finished and painted, the walls are patched and painted where they took a hit over the years and every thing is looking cheerfully redone.
I know that when the next people come in, this amazing little home will be happy to receive them and make them feel at home and for that, I am so grateful.
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