....that's the feeling I had 2 days ago as I drove through the streets of Celina. Reagan was going to Pre-Teen Camp with our former church, so she and I drove the 300 miles on Saturday. It would be a very quick trip. Literally in and out. I dropped her off with our across the street neighbors, visited awhile, and got back on the road. However, something quite unexpected occurred in those few short minutes.
The new family that bought our home had found a box up in the attic (which they thought was ours....it wasn't.) It was nice finally being able to put faces with the 100's of signatures we had seen as we went through the selling process. Such a SWEET family! We stood outside visiting in the driveway, when the wife unexpectedly asked Reagan if she wanted to come in and see her old bedroom. They have 3 little boys, so her pink/yellow/green/purple room was altered "just a bit." ;) As we walked up the sidewalk to the front door....a very strange....surreal feeling came over me. I had made that exact walk a million times prior. Only this time, it wasn't MY HOUSE. I'm not sure if you have ever had the privilege of doing this, but I will say....it was such a generous offer, but also ((SUPER TOUGH!)) Obviously, you have endless memories attached to every square inch of a former home. But, this home? Very hard memories. The last 2 years we lived there (2008-2010) was Caleb's birth/Caed's volvulus. And during 1 of those years, Todd was living there alone. I tried desperately to block out those painful pictures flashing one right after another with each step I took. It was surreal, and I honestly had to keep reminding myself where I was....and that this was NOT my home anymore.
In our married life, Todd and I have lived in 5 different homes. Each one just as unique as the stage of life we were living. To visualize each of those homes, I can also recall thousands of memories associated along with them. Good AND bad. But....there is something distinctly different about our house on Doloris Ct. Absolutely....SO MANY wonderful memories were made there, and friendships that will without a doubt last a lifetime! But, the trauma.....the overwhelming pain that we were forced to bear those 2 final years unfortunately have left their mark a little deeper in our hearts when we think of our time in Celina.
I am so grateful for that (very rare) opportunity to walk back into "my house"....probably for the last time. There definitely was a sense of closure this weekend, meeting this wonderful family and being able to visualize their new life on Doloris Ct. I truly pray for sweet memories and years of tremendous favor and blessing on the 6 lives who call this special house....their new home.
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