Saying goodbye is never easy...

...but when you've been packing until the wee hours of the morning and then back again at 7am to load up one last load and then scrub a place down, you start to let go just a little.

But seriously, saying goodbye to AF Parkway was a tough one.

We didn't HAVE to move. We hadn't outgrown it. It wasn't run down and falling apart. It suited us just fine. We just knew it was time to move on. It was time to head north (as in about 8 miles farther north) and start a new adventure.

But, when the time came to turn off that last night and close that door one last time, I struggled.

Because, yes, I know that home is where your family is. I know that memories stay with you. But I also know that my dad and my father in law, Larry, worked their butts off the first weekend we moved here to give me the bead board in my dining room that I had always wanted...

And I know that Larry tiled this bathroom floor by himself, with bad knees, just because he knew we wanted tile. And he had the time to give.

(And I am pretty sure that there is still white paint in the bushes in the front of the house from when Larry was painting the trim on the front windows and a bucket of paint fell off the ladder and landed ON HIS HEAD.)

And so yes, while this is just a kitchen, I look past that kitchen counter and see a table where Larry would sit and color with Jake or turn his chair towards the living room and join in whatever conversation was happening wherever it was happening.

And I realize that those memories will not ever happen in our new house. No matter how special this new place will be- no matter how big and beautiful and spacious and close to school and church and how many new memories we will make- they won't include our "Pops."

So, yes, I struggled with saying goodbye. Amidst the fleet of U-hauls and the stress and the sweat, I struggled. I texted my sweet Carolina Girls while scrubbing the fridge at 7:30am on the Friday we were to close through my tears, and they talked me through it.

And those memories are always in my heart among the other ones. They just came pouring out at high speeds that Friday morning.

So, yes, saying goodbye is never easy.



But saying hello later that same day brings sunshine and light and the promise of new beginnings.