After a lifetime of living in the same small town and almost 40 years in the same house, we’re getting ready to move! Can you imagine?
My dad’s passing, as hard as it is to accept, presents new horizons for us. We all handle grief in different ways and I typically get most of my tears out of the way and focus on the future. Our future is now wide open.
Ricky and I live in the same town we grew up in and in the same house we raised our kids in.
How will we ever be able to leave those trees? That picture was taken years ago and they are much larger now!
The town isn’t the same as it used to be and not for the better. I love small town living, but well… not this small town any more. The kids knew that early own and both have moved away. Our son is in south Florida, 600 miles from here. Our daughter only 75 miles away. My dad was the only reason we’ve stayed here. Now, there’s nothing keeping us here and we’re looking to move closer to our daughter. Why not Florida where our son is? It’s a completely different world than we’re used to and just too far away. However, we’ll now be able to visit there more often than we have in the past.
Moving will be such an adventure! There will be happies, arguments, decisions and indecision, confusion, awakening, pondering, deciding what we want out of life and a home and the shocking realization of just how much junk we’ve accumulated over the years.
First step will be to get our house ready to sell. This will happen over the next few months. Mainly a few repairs, paint……………
Ummmm…. yeah. This is on all the walls in our master bathroom. I’m admitting it to the world. 1980’s, folk art stencils. I believe if nothing else gets painted, this is a must. The tile is pretty hideous, but we’re not putting that kind of money in it to sell.
……………making the yard look good – it’s been neglected the past couple of years – and clean up. Oh my, clean up and clean out. Clean out = The biggest chore.
I’ve started the clean out process. I’ve done one closet so far, have pulled articles from about a million magazines in the “magazine chest”, and at the moment am working on the many large boxes full of photos from my parents and ours, getting them ready for albums.
I’m also considering paint colors. This house is in fairly bold colors.
I know the walls should be neutral for selling. And actually, I was going to do that regardless. Not only do we have peachy/coral, we have 3 different greens in this house! And if something looks nice in one green room, that’s where it stays because it looks awful in another green room. So. I’m looking at white. But…. Gah!!!! Which one??!! Pinning, pinning, pinning. Research, research, research. This will also give me a chance to see how I like a house with all white walls. For when we move.
Moving. Find a house or build? I’ve got a feeling, a very strong feeling, we’ll be building. I’ve looked online at the available houses in the areas we’re willing to go. We want a few acres and the houses I like are crammed up in neighborhoods. Neighborhoods with home owners’ associations. Uh….. yeah. Nope. And if there’s a home with some land, it’s usually not even close to what we want in style and too expensive to work with. We would certainly consider a less-than-what-we-want house on the right piece of land, if we can envision making the house into our dream home. I don’t have that kind of vision, so that brings us back to building…..
Farmhouse?
Or….
French/European style?
Arghhhhh!!!!! And I’ve spent hours online looking at house plans. None are perfect. Or I haven’t found it yet. One will have the perfect master bedroom suite, but the rest of the house will be a no-go. Or maybe another area of the house is great, but some other area is totally wrong for us.
And will we really be happy with a significantly larger house or would a cottage do? Should we downsize and simplify? Could I really do without a craft/sewing room? (Or if I’m being honest with myself, a room to store all those supplies and dreams.) Do I really need a big kitchen for the few times a year more than one person is bumping around in there?
I do want his and hers walk in closets. I do want larger bathrooms and guest bedrooms than we have in this house. I do want a screen door in the kitchen.
It’s funny. We’ve lived in this house since 1977 and I still don’t have it the way I want it. It still hasn’t lived up to its full potential. I still had plans for it. But through the years, we either didn’t have the time or the money or both, or it was inertia or we didn’t want to over-improve, or we thought we might find a house we liked better. I do not want that to happen again. [inlinetweet tweeter=”Just Vintage” suffix=””]I’m at a point in my life there’s no reason to sleep on rough sheets.[/inlinetweet] So to speak.
I should have some good blog fodder during the next couple of years, so….. let’s get going!
Wanda, I don’t envy you this upcoming move & the process of cleaning out. As you get deeper into it, you will be overwhelmed with all your stuff, you know. I dread my time. You have such a pretty house! It would be hard to leave those well-established trees and yard. Building is also a challenge, but since you are both “retired” you can keep a closer check on things. And all the stuff you got to do to your house to sell it…ugh. No I don’t envy you at all…wink wink.
Wanda, I came to your blog, and this question, through the giveaway. I am feeling the same lately. I have lived on this property (5 acres) nearly my whole life. Fifty years. My husband and I have lived next to my parents during our whole married life, except for the first year. Even though we looked at moving years ago, we decided to stay here next to them because we knew that they would need our help one day. This is the last thing my parents left me when they died. But we’re looking ahead, to when we can’t take care of 5 acres anymore. We have no children to help us. It floods, and with “progress” on all sides of us, we expect that to get worse. We don’t want to live with that sword over our heads any longer. My emotional attachment is making it very hard. Leaving the trees we brought back from old family homesteads and planted in our own yard. The purple martins that return to our yard every spring (my first one came yesterday). The shop with the tools my father used in his furniture refinishing. How will I leave all this ? But I have started the process of getting rid of things because I know that it is inevitable. I have started destructing my flower beds, putting things into pots so that I can either sell it or take it with me later. This will not be easy. I know just how you feel. Good luck with your move. Yours seems to be coming soon, where mine will probably be a few years in the future.
How attached we get! Would you believe I, at one time at least, thought I’d want to take rocks with me when I moved? The rocks were from the pumphouse that was on my inlaws’ property. We hauled them home and put them around flower beds. But, rally. Rocks? Sheesh! We were outside with our 4 year old granddaughter yesterday and I was loving our home and having doubts about leaving. But to get closer to her is the whole reason for wanting to move. So…..
Wanda and Patty you can do this. I moved from South Carolina to Las Vegas ten years ago. Grew up in a very small town in the same house for 21 years. Got married and moved 30 minutes away from my parents. Lived there for 50 years. Husband had some health issues and we lost our family business. Left youngest son to finish college and moved west to spend time with oldest son. Missed my parents desparately after the move, they were in their eighties. Within three and a half years they passed away. Rough time but I made it by holding on to all the good memories. Little grandson arrived and oh the joy in my heart these days. Still miss my son back home (SC will always be home). He recently married, he’s happy, and calls his mama everyday . I have learned to adjust to not having all my family close like it use to be. The move was good for us, it’s been a little freeing so to speak. Here I am at 60 seeing new things, trying new things, making new friends. There maybe new adventures on the horizon. Researching RV traveling. Did my life turn out like I thought it would? No, but it’s the life I’m living and it’s good. Wishing you both all the best as you make new changes in your lives.
Thanks for sharing your experience! We went out to eat the other night and commented how weird it will be not to know half the people in a restaurant. And worrying about how one goes about making new friends. I won’t be so very far away from my friends here, but will certainly need someone my own age to hang out with there.
Enjoy that grandbaby! That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? How did we ever get along without them?
Wow, Debra, what a cultural change! We won’t be doing that kind of move. It will be difficult enough just moving 5 miles away! Thank you for the encouraging words. It was so kind of you!
How exciting! And daunting! Hoping it all goes well, the preparation, the build and the move. You totally seem like a farmhouse girl: welcoming, calming, relaxed. I don’t envy your task of packing inventory.
Looking forward to following along as you make your decisions and move. Best of luck! xo
Terri, I’ve always wanted an old farmhouse. Walton’s style. Outside, anyway. Not crazy about the inside, but I’d take it. Thing is, if we build, I want it to look old, not all new, shiny, siding and my husband says he doesn’t want wood again. What to do…. what to do?
Us too: new wring, new fixtures but the charm of the old. And a first floor master so we can live there when we can’t do steps. Maybe the upgraded siding will look old? I like some of the thicker ones that have grooves and more character. There is something to be said for less upkeep as we age. Maybe it’s bc my moms house has always fallen to me.
I laughed at your comment about moving rocks. I can’t say I will move rocks, but I am 99% sure I will be moving the built ins I made in the basement for my shop. It will require lots of work and lots of patience on the part of Neal. But they are perfect and I won’t find them again. Just like your rocks. ☺️
Can’t wait to see what happens next. Good luck
Wanda, so you’re saying I should leave the rocks behind ? 🙂
Hehe 😀 I wouldn’t go so far as to say we should leave the rocks behind, but maybe so……