Several weeks ago, my parents decided that it was time to downsize, and move to a condo. Although I know this was a great move for them, I was not prepared for the wave of emotions I would feel as we went through all of their things and tried to downsize their stuff to fit in the condo. They have lived in their home in Bountiful for 27 years, and they have been married for almost 60 years, so as you can imagine they have accumulated a lot of things throughout the years. Their home in Bountiful was also my home for my senior year in high school, and then Tony and I lived in their home for about 18 months while they were serving in Brazil for the second time. (Just in case you were wondering the spots on the carpet are probably from my kids during those 18 months.) Each time I was at their home helping them go through things, I found things that it just seemed wrong to part with. So I always came home with more things to try to find room for in my home.
Christmas decorations were one of the first things we sorted through. As box after box was going to go to DI, I saw the decorations that we have been putting on the "downstairs" Christmas tree since I was a young child in Brigham City. I had to fight back the tears as the memories came flooding back, and I brought home a small box full that I will be adding to my tree even if they don't match! On another day we found a Smokey the Bear pillowcase that I used when I was little, and our baby blankets that we used throughout the years when we were sick. All these things just seemed to be an instant link to the past. This has not been an easy thing for me; I will miss their house, miss their amazing yard, miss their patio breakfasts.
The condo is different, but it already feels homey. Perhaps it is because the people that live there are what makes it home.
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