Love It or List It
May 24, 2020
My wedding anniversary is tomorrow. 17 years ago, we were married at the oldest church in Idaho, a small one-room old-style church. Think "Little House on the Prairie." The capacity at the church was 60, so naturally, we filled it with 85 people. On a hot day. There was no air conditioning.
After the ceremony, we went "home" to celebrate at the reception. Two months earlier, we'd purchased a house on an historic street in northeast Boise. The price was a stretch for us, but the location and the property was perfect. The house needed some love to make it truly ours, but we could see through the projects.
Because of the huge backyard, we canceled our original wedding reception reservations at an events center, and hosted the reception in our backyard. It was the first big party we threw at the house.
Over the past 17 years, we've remodeled every square inch of this house, tearing down walls, ripping up carpet, refinishing hardwoods. Our 1953 ranch-style home now has a gourmet kitchen, a master suite, a guest suite, a built-in bar in the rec room. It's such a great house!
We've also completely transformed the front yard by adding a 4-car garage, circular driveway and redoing the landscaping. And the backyard...oh man, the backyard! We've terraced it, landscaped it, built a deck. It has hosted so many epic summer parties and intimate dinner parties. It's such an incredible yard!
17 years of marriage is reason enough to wax poetic about memories. But that's not what's on my mind today. After 17 years and remodeling every square inch of this house, we're selling. Downsizing. Minimalizing. Simplifying.
We've moving to a new townhouse with a courtyard and a side yard that will be maintained by a homeowners association. No 1-acre lot to maintain. Significantly smaller home to clean and furnish. We're taking all of our equity out, and paying cash for the townhouse, and paying off the mortgage on our Sun Valley condo, too. We'll have no mortgages. I'm sure Dave Ramsay would be thrilled for us!
It's a great plan. It makes so much sense. I'm really excited for the move!
But have you ever seen that HGTV show "Love It or List It?" That's where I am right now. You see, we've been working on the final projects to get the house ready to sell. The little picky things that mostly go unnoticed until you start looking at your own house with a buyer's eye. And the house has never looked better. And the yard? Well, it has also never looked better.
So while I'm excited about the move, I'm also a little emotional this weekend. And that's OK. It's OK to be excited and emotional at the same time. It's OK to be moving to a new reality while reliving happy times of the past. It's OK to have questions and doubts, but take the forward step anyway.
I keep reminding myself that it's just a house. But this house has been more than just a house for us. It's where we got married. And raised up three yellow labs. And spent so much time and money remodeling. We've hosted political fundraisers and birthday parties and summer parties and farm-to-table dinners. We've strung Christmas lights in the winter, and bunting and American flags in the summer. We've spent countless hours sitting on the back deck, drinking wine, listening to yacht rock, and watching the world go by on the Greenbelt. And so many nights in the hot tub looking at the stars or watching the full moon rise. And it's where we were quarantined during the global pandemic of 2020.
But it's still just a house. And it will be a great house for the next family who is lucky enough to live here. We're taking our "home" with us when we go. Because while rooms and yards are important, I've learned long ago that you make a home by bringing family and friends and love with you when you go.
So, while we love it, we're still going to list it.
Sign up for The Weekly Best Life List!
My weekly newsletter is delivered right to your In-Box on Sunday mornings.
Full of inspiration, ideas, strategies and recommendations to help you live your BEST LIFE every day!
Bonus: pairs nicely with a cup of coffee or mimosa.
Like you, I hate SPAM. I will never sell your information, for any reason.
