Flashback to Tuesday, February 21st at approximately 7:45 p.m. I was in the pickup driving home from a church meeting and suddenly came to the realization that this was my last commute to our home in Wisner. Seriously, the last one. We moved to Wayne the next day. Something I had done almost every single day for the last five years was suddenly going to end that night when I got home, and my life felt like it was spiraling out of control at that very moment. What was I doing? What was I dragging my family into? How would the boys react? How would my husband adjust? Where were we going to put all of our stuff? How were we going to get it all moved? Why am I just thinking about all of this now? And then the tears started to flow. I cried the whole way home, and must have looked a sight when I pulled into the local Pizza Hut to pick up our supper. The high school student working the cash register didn't say a word. He was having trouble calculating the change, so he had bigger things to worry about than the rivers of mascara flowing down my cheeks.
Once I got home, I kept it together through supper. My husband and I discussed our game plan for the next day and tried to keep it civil. Emotions have been running high on both our parts. We have been pulled in different directions throughout our married life mostly due to job and family commitments. A move to Wayne simplifies our life in many aspects, including work, child care, school, and church. Nonetheless, Tim has strong ties to his family and their farming operation, which lies about an hour in the opposite direction. My hope is that we will both have more time to devote to that important aspect of our lives now that we are spending less time on the road each day (between the two of us), but I have yet to convince him of the benefits. He still reminds me that one of his unspoken marriage vows was, "We shalt never live any further north than Wisner."
Bedtime came for the boys, and my oldest son begged me to read him one of his new favorites, Beauty and the Beast. The tears welled in my eyes as we laid in bed and I thought of all the stories we had read in our Wisner house. A whole bookcase of children's books was packed up and ready to move the next day. I just couldn't stop thinking about the fact that this would be the last time we would lay together reading a story in that room. After all, this was the house to which we had brought both of our boys home from the hospital. It is a great house, and it has made a great home for us. I have so much pride in the improvements we have done (and are currently finishing). The tears of sorrow flowed thinking of bygone days, happy times, and special moments together......and tears of joy streamed from thoughts of our new home waiting for us in Wayne. The new carpet and paint looked so fresh and clean, and the walls just seemed to be begging for us to start moving in. This move would be a time saver for our family. Between their mom and dad, my boys will get an extra two hours of time with us EACH day outside of a car seat! We will be home before sundown so we can go to the park, hit the library, or actually do something fun besides eat a quick supper, take a bath, and go to bed. No more making five or six trips to the car in the morning to make sure I have absolutely everything I need because I can't run home over lunch to get it. The commute is over, and it is going to be life changing.
Tears of joy and tears of sorrow flowing at the same time over two houses. That, my friends, is the impact a home can have your life. More fun to follow later regarding our move, the days leading up to it, and the upcoming sale of our Wisner home. Welcome Home!
