Yesterday marked exactly five years since we moved from Lincoln to Eagle. We lived in our apartment in Lincoln for a year, then in our first home (still my favorite) for 4 years, then in Lincoln for 5 years and now Eagle. I guess if it is a pattern we're looking for, we still have another year to be here before moving elsewhere.
I remember many things from the spring of 2005. We were in the process of trying to sell our house during the time that I was in my last weeks of pregnancy with Benjamin. We had found this house...the one we are living in now, and it seemed to meet all of our criteria...big enough, on an acerage, move-in ready. Things didn't transpire as we had hoped and we were unable to complete a transaction as buyers or sellers, so we put it to rest and breathed easy for a while to enjoy the arrival of our newest child. A short while later, we got a phone call from the sellers that they were still trying to sell and wondered if we were still interested. We in turn contacted the previously potential buyer of our home to see if she was still intersted, and within weeks we were packing our belongings in preparation to move to Eagle.
We closed on April 26. There was a whirlwind of emotions...wondering what in the world we just did. I was emotional about leaving our little house that we brought four children home to...the memories that we had made there. Again, the hard work that we put into it, transforming it from an old empty house into a beautifully decorated, warm and welcoming home. We planted new grass, a new tree and other plants. We painted inside and out, finished spaces by ourselves and with the help of others. IT was ours in every corner. We would spend everything we had to acquire this new house and be under construction just to finish the living space. There would be no decorating, no fixing up, no new furniture or fixtures. We just couldn't afford it.
I remember taking old paint that was left over and painting the living room just to make something feel like it was ours. I remember feeling for the longest time that this was just a house and couldn't get past longing for something different, even though we had just gotten here. I felt like it needed so much. Paint, character, landscaping, etc. It was quite a deflating feeling because we just couldn't do those things, and the prospect of doing it anytime soon was dismal. We moved out here with the idea that if it didn't work, we would move back to Lincoln. This is still a constant evaluation. It is a difficult thing to ponder when we have others' opinions often. Not many people understand why we would live in Eagle and drive to Lincoln to school. When we moved here, there was a corn field in our back yard...now there is a neighborhood. It's not what we anticipated, but it is ok. We've made lots of changes in five years. Constant care for the landscaping to produce green grass, growing trees, outdoor living spaces, we've put up walls and knocked down walls, painted everything that was once white (probably three or four times), layed wood and tile on the floors, rearranged furniture on a monthly basis. We've brought home two babies to this house and celebrated five Christmases here as well as lots and lots of birthdays. We've grown small gardens and huge ones, painted the barn and taken down, put up, taken down and put up the fence around the "pasture". We've watched our trees add three feet to their height and planted new ones to fill in gaps. We've lost as many as we've planted.
This house is our home...we know that because when we've been gone for a week or longer and we open the door to dump our suitcases on the floor, we feel like we're home. The prospect of a different home is appealing and on my mind often. The idea of packing is overwhelming. I'd rather sell all of our belongings with the house and start from scratch although I know that isn't realistic. In all of the improvements that we've made in five years, we've got a list a mile long that need to be done before we could think of trying to sell it! I guess we have another year to prepare if we're going to be on track to maintain our pattern. :) For now, we're living here like we're planning to be here for another 20+ years. And who knows, if we are still here in 20 years, I'm sure it will be beautiful and full of amazing memories.
