Boxes are stacked against all the walls, their destinations scrawled across them in black.

Boys Room

Kitchen

The cabinets are empty and the beds are stripped. For the first time, there are no toys on the floor. Not one. The bookshelves are bare. The laundry room is clean, and there are no clothes strewn around. All of our pictures and memories are carefully wrapped and placed lovingly into more boxes.

Chase turned one in this house, and then turned two. We got the news of Jimmy in this house, and then brought him home to it. This was Tuckers last home. I’ve spent hundreds of hours in the upstairs hallway pacing with a colicky baby, and the rug shows evidence of it. We’ve made countless bottles standing half awake at the sink in the kitchen. So many baths have been given. There is still a hint of one of Chase’s coloring escapades on the wall. Jimmy took his first steps here, and Chase said “I love you”. So many memories.

Moving to a new home is always bittersweet for me. The excitement and new possibilites are mellowed by just a bit of sadness.

We have only lived here for two years, but what a huge two years it was.