In a few short weeks, we will be handing over the keys to our house to new owners. Our months in the throws of selling and buying will be over and we will be on to a new home. And now that the stress of putting our house on the market and finding a new house is somewhat behind us, it is starting to set in that we will be saying goodbye to our house…our home.
A lot has transpired over the last 7.5 years in this little house and it has forever cemented a place in our family’s heart. This house is very special to us and while I am happy for the next family to move in and make it their amazing home I would be lying if I wasn’t super sad about it all.
So I decided to write the new homeowners a letter about what this house has meant to us and our family the better part of the last decade.
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Dear New Homeowners,
Welcome and Congratulations! We are so excited for you and your next adventure in this amazing house. Before you get settled in we wanted to let you know a little bit about what this house has meant to us.
We purchased the house in November 2009 as a couple of young, naive, engaged kids. We were in the process of relocating and this was our first home not only as individuals but as a family unit. We were beyond excited for this next chapter of our lives as Chase was entering grad school and I was in wedding planning mode. The house quickly became our home and our safe comfortable place in this new and bustling city.
That first year in this house would prove to be quite memorable. We learned a lot about each other, survived and then celebrated by tying the knot in November 2010. We also made some of our very best friends that year, friends who live on this very street and will be friends for the rest of our lives.
Fast forward a couple of years to November 2011 and we found ourselves arriving home from the hospital with a new (and surprising) bundle of joy, our first daughter Molly. Our office had been lovingly converted to a nursery and we were diving into the new and tumultuous challenge of parenthood. No longer was this home just a place for a couple of young kids to relax, it was now where we were starting our family. We would spend the next couple of years navigating our new life and we were figuring it all out in our first home. First smile, first night of full sleep, first crawl, first steps etc. – it would all take place inside these walls.
Now it’s May 2014 and Chase is graduating from grad school and starting his career as a chiropractor. All of the late nights studying in our dining room was paying off. Wohoo! Yet another chapter of our lives was beginning. And we got to hang a well earned Doctor of Chiropractic Degree on our living room wall.
The following year we would welcome our second daughter Ellie to our home. All of a sudden there were 4 of us under this roof. As our family was growing we were making more and more memories that we will never forget right here in this house. Thinking back to just a few years before when it was just Chase and I seems crazy…so much had changed. But the one constant was our haven, our home.
And now here we are, packing our things into boxes, talking about all the fun times here. The yearly birthday parties we had in the backyard, the date night Chase and I spent scrubbing the grout in the kitchen tile, the scar Molly has from running into that wall, the looong nights spent pacing down the hallway with unsettled babies, Christmas morning with our girls, our first picture as homeowners on the front porch and the list goes on and on. So much laughter, giggles, tears, happy times, sad times, celebratory times, game nights, girls nights, movie nights and more. It’s hard to even imagine sleeping somewhere else in the coming nights.
But it’s time for us to move on, to make memories in a new house, to call a new place home. After awhile I am sure the next house will feel just as special but for right now it’s hard to say goodbye. We are so excited for all the fun and adventures your family will have here too. Cherish this place…it has seen a lot and it’s so incredibly special.
So cheers! And welcome home.
Love,
The Vincents
Has anybody else recently moved? Was it terribly sad? Or not that big of a deal? Any tips for making the girls feel comfortable in the new house? Let me know in the comments!
We’re a family of 4 and are about to do the exact same thing! We bought as a newly married couple and now have 8 years of memories tied up in this home. Your post brought tears to my eyes as I have the same feelings about leaving our current home but also know it’s time to move on. Thanks for writing such a great piece.
Hi Allison! Congrats on your upcoming move! Its an exciting time but also stressful and sad as well. We are getting excited for the new house (we move this Saturday!) but its going to be so hard to walk out of our current home that final time. Thanks so much for reading!