I finally have everything in our house the way I want it which can only mean one thing- we’re moving again.


We weren’t supposed to move for three more years but last week Christopher’s company said JUST KIDDING! You have to move next month! Say so long to your plans of a fun Christmas season and get packing! Hurry up, there’s no time to spare!


Let me tell you how I feel about this recent development.


I am not a fan.


It took almost a year and a half to feel like this was home. For a long time it just felt like a place I lived. In the last six months I’ve put a lot more effort into getting established here. I signed us up for events in the community. I started volunteering in the nursery at church. I went to the church ladies retreat. I started inviting people for playdates instead of waiting for them to invite me. It was a lot of work for my introvert self but it helped it feel more like home here. I finally got to that spot only to be told it’s time to pick up and go again. I have seven thousand and twelve reasons I don’t want to go. I have pregnant friends whose babies I need to meet. I already planned my garden for next year. We got our patio at the end of the summer and barely got to use it. I love my house and don’t want to leave it. It’s small and creaky but cozy and perfect. Annabelle’s room is everything I wanted my little girl’s room to be. I’m almost insulted that someone else will be living here. They won’t know not to lock the bathroom door because you might get stuck in there. They won’t know that the dining room and master bedroom don’t hold heat well but the upstairs bathroom is always warm and a good place to hang out when you’re cold.


We’re going to miss our landlords so much. They are the sweetest people. Annabelle’s face lights up when Big Mr. Jim comes over. They do the yardwork and take great pride in things being pristine so in the spring and summer they’re over often. We always go out to chat and catch up. Mrs. Jim has babysat for me a few times. Their grandchildren are grown and they really treat AB like she’s part of their family. They treat all of us like family. When we told Little Jim the bad news he went and told his mom. She called me and said, “Jimmy told me the news and I just can’t believe it. I was so upset last night I couldn’t sleep and had to take a sleeping pill.” A few months ago Little Mr. Jim had trees cut down in the Hundred Acre Woods. Tigger’s tree stump house somehow got mixed up with the branches that were hauled away. The Jims know how much Annabelle loves Tigger’s house so they went through the dumpster with the wood and rescued it. We were visiting with Mrs. Jim tonight and she said Little Mr. Jim planted bulbs around Tigger’s house as a springtime surprise. I almost can’t think about it without crying.


I’ve cried several times since last week. I went from planning our Christmas time activities to being told overnight that we have to leave. Sometimes it occurs to me that maybe I’m being overly dramatic about this but so be it. I’ve never been one to like change, especially when I haven’t had any say in it. We’re moving to Georgia where it’s approximately 156 degrees with close to zero percent chance of a good snow. It’s snowing now and it’s like a little gift from God that we get to play in it before we move.


On the bright side, I do enjoy decorating new homes. We might end up with a kitchen that seats more that three people and maybe I’ll have a spot for flowers. We’re flying down tomorrow (weather permitting) to go house hunting. If it goes well we’ll end up with a lovely new home. If it doesn’t I’ll use the packing boxes and make us a box home.