The autumnal tilting of our planet is readily apparent now. The way the sun plays across the trees in the afternoon negates any need for calendar or clock. Twittering hummingbirds battle for dominion of the feeder as they, like us, prepare for their upcoming journey. Not that its needed, but the smattering of red and orange leaves both on the branches and on the ground confirms this truth.

I think should some quantum force pluck me out of the future continuum and drop me back here, with just a moment to soak up the sights, sounds and smells, I could easily tell you the time of year. I suppose that’s what  being over 16 years in one place can do. Does that define Home? A place you know, a place that knows you? Or is Home just a state of mind?

This past Friday the Purchase & Sale agreement was finalized and signed by all (without us ever taking pen to paper or physically traveling anywhere by the way, it was all done by email and PDF). Since late 2010 we have been working hard to reach this moment, the past 14 months being particularly intense. We would often ask each other “are we nuts?”, “this is such a great place, are we doing the right thing?”. Then logic would prevail and the answer would always be a resounding “yes”, it just makes sense. It’s time.

But now that it is so close to being a done deal, it seems so much more real, maybe even final. What used to be some ethereal and uncertain future time is now a firm point in the very near future. I must admit that’s a bit frightening now that its here, and interspersed with the prevailing excitement of our upcoming adventure, I have had a few moments of uncertainty these past few days. My logic tells me that’s just some emotional response to walking away from our long established comfort zone into another that is fraught with unknowns and well, will just be different. I believe that, but its still seems hard to shake off the doubt.

We were in our previous home for 7 years and I thought it would be hard to leave, but as we closed the door for the last time and drove away it was much easier than anticipated and the excitement of the new place we called home quickly overcame all. Perhaps as we age that need for consistency and stability becomes harder to quell, so will this time be more difficult? Maybe a little, because we just so loved everything about this place. But we also know the longer we wait the harder it will be and after all, there is an exciting new future ahead of us.

As I have been telling my Father, who also just signed a P&S for his house of 48 years, it is the memories that are important, the house is just a place. Whether you stay in that place or not, the memories are still just memories and they will go with you wherever you go.

One aspect that helps immensely is that our buyer, Lauren, and her fiancee James, are so excited and appreciative of this property and all that we have done to it. They stopped by on Friday evening to see about buying some of our stuff (they did!) and we ended up chatting until well after 11pm! We know they will continue supporting the environment here, from the Eastern Phoebe Flycatcher nesting box on the porch to the frogs and turtles in the pond and it’s so comforting knowing they will be enjoying the fruits of our labor. Maybe it’s like when an artist sells a painting, yes there was a lot of work and time that went into it, but there’s a great satisfaction and sense of immortality knowing that a piece of your existence will carry on to be enjoyed by others – there will always be a part of us here that can never be erased.

So we’ll take our memories with us and move on to new ones and a new “Home”, knowing all we did here will be respected and appreciated and provide a great medium for many new memories to come.

Now to get back to work as there is a LOT more to do!