live it - end of an era

(arriving for the last time at my family's Grass Lake home.)

I vividly remember the phone call I received a few months ago from my mom. It was something I never ever expected to hear from her, "We are going to sell the house." As silly as this may seem, I was devastated. Growing up, we moved around roughly every two years and this place felt like our first real home. I always thought my parents would stay at that house forever and it didn't seem real. I loved our fireplace, our forest, our barns, what were they thinking?!

Sure enough, someone fell in love and purchased my utopia a few months later. I traveled to Michigan this weekend to help my parents move from our family home of 14 years. Though I moved out many years ago for college, we built this place and it always felt like it was my home no matter where I lived. It felt strange when I arrived this time and walked into a mostly packed and more empty house. It was even more strange when a few minutes later I met the excited new buyers who were around my age.

As a family, we spent countless Saturdays working on the land around our home, clearing brush, raking leaves, mowing the lawn, planting flowers, and it finally had turned into a beautiful piece of land. My last afternoon there, I walked the property with my dad, ran into the house taking one last mental picture of each room and then drove down the long driveway for the last time.

Recently, I have come to realize that stuff, is just stuff. Though we may get super attached to things, they are just blessings that may only be with us for a season. I am so grateful we had that house for the time that we did and I am excited for the new adventure that my parents are on now. Their new home is lovely, tons of sunshiny windows and lush green fields, it is just what they needed and they will make this new home just as cozy.

(what I woke up to each morning.)

(that's my mama!)

(all the effort to move that mattress and it was brought to the wrong bed.)

The best part of the trip was seeing all of my friends and family. There is something so refreshing about surrounding yourself with people who get you completely and love you despite all of your issues. There is never a dull moment in my family, trying to catch runaway chickens and runaway dogs, digging up baby trees to start our new forest, bonfires and spontaneous parties, just laughing until we cry (thanks for that trait mom), it was an incredible weekend and a reminder of what actually matters. I came back to Nashville feeling blessed for the time I had with them and with a deeper sense of Nashville being my home (...at least for now!).

(Their new driveway and start of the new adventure!)