Hi Y’all!
We currently live in San Diego, where the weather is beautiful year round, where we are surrounded by family and friends and, also, where we pay WAY TOO MUCH for homes. We currently own a one bedroom condominium in Mission Valley, that’s about 670 square feet, and with three humans, a dog, and a cat, we have out grown the space quite quickly. We have decided to move in with my parents for a little while to save up some money for a down payment on what we hope will be a house, but in this market, you never know.
We have been moved out for about a month and have been working pretty diligently on getting it renter ready. We’ve been scrubbing, wiping, furnishing, and getting rid of old things. As I clean, the dirt washes away, but the memories also come bubbling to the surface. I can’t help but remember all of the wonderful memories that have taken place here, in our first little home.
I pull into our parking spot and I think about first time I pulled into spot number 113 after we had been given the keys to OUR new home. This is the place where we would start our biggest adventure living life married as husband and wife. I think of the the many times I’d leave this spot in the morning for work, hands loaded down with bags, and the times I’d come home after shopping all day at Costco with even more bags than before.
I walk the sidewalk to our building and think of the endless dog walks we took Khalil on in this complex, and how he loved every minute of them. Chase and I would walk hand in hand for what totals to probably be days in this complex, with Khalil dragging us behind him by his leash.
I take apart our table and think of all of the nights we stayed up playing Settlers of Catan with our friends and family on it. I remember everyone telling me that this table was too large for our small place, but I believed that a bigger table meant a more welcoming space; like everyone had a place to sit together with us in our little home..
As I change the locks on the doors, I remember unlocking this door the first time when we brought our sweet baby girl, Kennedy, home from the hospital. I thought that we had it made, and in that moment I was totally and completely happy.
As I clean out the oven, I see the countless dinners that were prepared inside for our family over the last two years, the good and the bad. I remember the first dinner I cooked Chase in our new home, Salmon and Green Beans, and thinking to myself, I finally made it and this is it. I have been waiting for this moment for so long. I was finally in a place I loved with the man I loved. It couldn’t get any better than that moment.
As I pull back the rug, I find old pine needles that had fallen from our Christmas tree last December. I think about our first Christmas and how magical our tiny living room felt, stuffed to the brim with Christmas decorations and presents alike. I remember that being the day that we decided to have sweet Kennedy.
I pack up old books, packed with receipts from Trader Joe’s and meal plans from weeks gone by.
I fold little baby clothes that are too small, dish towels that have had more than their share of drying, and pool towels that still somehow smell of summer sunscreen and chlorine even though they’ve been washed.
I throw away old mail and bills and honestly I can’t believe this part of our lives, in little condo #108, has come to a close.
I watched my baby grow to a toddler in these four walls.
And just like that, our adventure in this little place is over.
They say time passes way too fast, and to not blink, because it’s over before it even started. And it’s true. I took for granted the little time we had together in 108.
I’m having such a hard time trying to get through the emotions I feel in association with this wonderful place we called home for two years. Every time I visit it, I cry. I’m not talking small tears. I am talking big UGLY sobs. I have a mixture of feelings of sadness, longing and thankfulness. I am so sad to leave this little home. I long to have lived here for a longer period of time than our two short years but I am so thankful we got to enjoy this home, and fill it with love and light and happiness for the time we got to. It was small, and we outgrew it quickly, but the memories created in this tiny space are larger than life.
I would love to hear from you. How do you cope with the emotions of saying goodbye to things you’ve grown accustomed to? Do you have any similar experiences?
That’s all for now.
-Kayla
