We’ve lived in our current house for 1.5 years and it really feels like home.  But I just drove by our old place, where we lived for nearly 7 years, and I saw a ‘For Sale’ sign on the lawn.  Curious to see what ‘our house’ now looks like, I found pictures on MLS that told the story….. the young couple who bought it from us renovated everything and are completing the ‘flip’ by selling it with a huge pricetag.  Uugh.  My emotions got stirred up.

There are so many memories that I have tied up in that house.  And while sentimental value doesn’t add equity to a house, it adds equity to a heart.  To my heart.

That’s the house we lived in when we were first married.

That’s the house that we brought our first baby home to.

That’s the house that we laughed in, loved in, and lived in.

I wanted them to love it as much as we did.

My husband went to the Open House to see it for himself, and he said it’s beautiful.  I couldn’t go with him, since I’d probably just walk through each room crying about what used to be.  What used to be my son’s nursery, and the many hours of rocking and feeding and cuddling, is now a staged guestroom.  What used to be my kitchen, and the many meals prepared and parties held, is now a state-of-the-art showpiece.  What used to be my living room, where my son learned to roll over and crawl and walk, is now minimalist and modern.

I want to remember that house the way it was when we left it.  I want to remember how our puppy chewed on the doorframe of the bathroom.  I want to remember the living room with multi-coloured mats on the floor and baby toys strewn about.  I want to remember the hours spent playing in the backyard and watering the flowers.

That’s where this chapter of my life began.  I don’t want to rewrite the setting in my mind.

Exhausted and shell-shocked…bringing our first babe home from the hospital.