Saying Goodbye (Part 1)

Dear: New Home Owners,

Although this house is coming to you as a result of a failed marriage, I want you to know that love lived here.

Once upon a time, a young couple stumbled upon a foreign land called Brookswood. They fell in love with the tall, old, oak trees, the friendly neighbors, and the unique and charming houses.
The house was dark, dingy, dusty, and frankly dirty. It did not look like it was taken care of. It did not look happy. It did not look loved. The couple decided to take a chance and buy the place.

They rented a uhaul and hired some movers. It was a blazing HOT summer and their puppy Baloo was very unhappy about moving from their brand new townhouse. But his mom and dad reassured him that an even better, more exciting, and beautiful adventure awaited their family. So they packed their things, kissed their first home goodbye, and off they went.

  

They were nervous but excited! This was going to be their greatest adventure yet!
They spent 1 year checking things off their home sweet honey do list and finally, this fixer upper of a house became their home.
Each and every piece and element was chosen to suit their needs and taste. They poured their blood, sweat, and tears into it and the result was a home they thought they would live in forever. It would be their forever home.

So, new home owners, when you put your feet up on your coffee table after a long day, you might think to yourselves, "why didn't they install built ins" or "why is the light fixture off center"? You might find a few scratches on our floors and a few holes in our walls. You might attempt to Febreeze "our smell" out of your home.

But know, after a long day of work, that this living room hosted a lot of Netflix marathons.
It saw countless hours of girls' nights where we would spend hours chit chatting not moving from the couch. It survived countless hours of boys' nights where D1 would spend hours, days, centuries even.. playing Call of Duty with friends. It saw a lot of "beaches" what we called bringing a mattress out into the living room and fort building. It housed our Christmas tree in the winter and the sliding doors let in a cool breeze in the summer.

If there's a glare on your TV, turn out the lights in the kitchen. We found having a lamp near the fireplace was the perfect amount of lighting for a cozy, movie night in.
Don't look too closely at the curtain rod, it's beginning to sag in the middle.
And good luck figuring out how the wires all tuck into the box under the TV. Make sure you guys take the time to pick your DVD player and TV with absolute certainty because it will be a b*tch and a half to rewire.
Don't stop building forts and if you put your Christmas tree in the same spot we used to, every morning when you peek out from your bedroom, you'll see it glowing at the end of the hall.




















It is my hope that you cherish this living room as much as our family did. May it bring you many good nights entertaining friends, many cuddles on the couch with loved ones, many silly games and funny movies with lots of buttery popcorn and junk food.

But most importantly, may the frames you hang above your TV, not be crooked like mine were the entire 2 years we lived there.

Enjoy.
Love,
J