A New Chapter

This is our home of 40-plus years. When we bought it, it had a cistern, a coal chute (still does), a yard full of fruit trees and vines (still has those, too), a root cellar (yup, still there) and shade from that magnificent elm in the front yard. In those 40 years, we have updated every part of it and, yet, it still retains the ambiance of the 100-year-old farmhouse it is.

When we bought it, we didn’t have any children. Now, it hosts dinners for our kids and their families. When we bought it, we moved in with just our clothes and a few pieces of bedroom furniture. Now, it’s filled with toys and books and comfortable places to sit and enjoy good conversation. When we bought it, it didn’t have a porch. Now, we can sit on our screened porch in the evening and chat with our neighbors.

When we bought it, we had no idea that we’d spend four decades filling it with laughter and love and too many memories to count. But, now, it’s sold. It‘s just not the right house for us anymore. But, it is the perfect home for a new family to cherish and change and enjoy.

This month, we move into our new home. I’m thrilled and I’m sad. The actual packing has been exhausting, not just from lifting and toting but from examining each token of our history. Some things made the cut. Others didn’t. We’re writing a new chapter. It’s just like writing a new book. My experience and memories are coming along, but the cover and plot will be different. So…off we go!

Joanie Leopold