Do you get sentimental and attached to your houses? Thinking of all the memories and things that happened in a house when it’s time to leave. I do. I’m hopeless like that. The very first flat we bought was where we lived after we got married, I’d bake for the office and knit before I caught the bus to the city and hoping that soon we would be starting our family. Retro daddy was spending most of his time in Japan or away from home (not good timing for starting a family) and it wasn’t how we pictured it but we were newlyweds and happy.
But it didn’t take us too long and buying our very first house really felt like an achievement, the fact we had bought a house……….with a garden. And bringing our first baby back home to it and I was terrified of walking from the car to the house with my precious newborn. And it’s where I first became a mum. We’d walk down to the beach most days, I learnt to sew and was doing lots of knitting and taking keira to baby swimming lessons and just enjoying being a first time mum. I had the best neighbour next door who also loved to bake and sew and we’d have the biggest chats over the fence while hanging out our washing.
And our next house was where we raised the twins from babies to preschoolers. It’s where elodie came home to. It’s the place where my mum would visit and the last time I ever talked to her before she got too sick and then passed away. It was really hard to leave that house with the memories I had, good and bad. And it was the first time we dabbled in renovating and got a taste for it.
And then there was this house……I’ll always treasure this photo of our first night here. With that giant pack of toilet paper in the photo. We like to camp out before the removalists arrive as we’re so excited to just be in our new home. Well actually that turned out to be a funny night with airbeds deflating during the night and no one got a good night’s sleep especially not retro daddy but it was fun and we look back on it and laugh. 40 year old green carpet and all. And this is the home that we brought emerson home to.
and my beautiful magnolia tree….it doesn’t look like much right now and I hope the next owners keep it because it is absolutely magnificent when it’s in flower like this pic.
And in a couple of weeks we start making memories in a new home. And it’s exciting and I can’t wait to get in there but at the same time I’ll be sad to see this one go and the memories we’ve made in this house. I’m so glad a young family are moving in and can make this their own just as we have.
Tell me – are you sentimental like me when it comes to where you lived or do you just move on………………….
I’m very sentimental. Luckily we are currently renting (so feel very little attachment to this place) but leaving our last place, our first, our first renovation and where we brought our son home to was so HARD!
But we have just got the keys to our new place and have 5 weeks to make it liveable. I cannot wait for the adventures in our new home. Good luck Corrie, I can’t wait to see your new place. x
Once upon a time… I was quite sentimental about our house. It was our first own house, I really loved it and I was absolutely sure we would stay there forever. When my husband lost his job unexpectedly, we – especially myself – were shocked because that meant we had to sell “our” house, move to another town, search for another house to buy – things, I never thought I would have to think about again. Since those days I stopped being sentimental about houses. Home is, where my heart – my family – is, and I don’t care about the house anymore. Of course, I like our new house, too, but I will never ever again hang my heart on something I perhaps one day will have to leave again… As long as my dearest are around, everything is okay.
What lovely photos!
Our previous house was where we had lived for 22 years – and where our four children grew up: I had thought it would be hard to leave because there were so many good memories. But because we had lived there so long it actually seemed quite different after the process of decluttering for sale, so it didn’t seem like ‘our home’ any more, rather just the house we were living in. That made it much easier to walk away….. Probably the hardest part was at the start of the ‘getting ready to sell’ stage when we were getting our adult children to go through all the things they had left with us – that made the move much more a wrench!!!
Looking forward to seeing the photos of the new place and the new memories you will be sharing with us…..
Our grandparents always had the same family home that their kids were born, grew up in, left home, got married and brought the grand kids home to visit. I always had a sense of family story, connection and belonging. They eventually sold up and went into retirement and nursing homes….they were devastated as was I. I wish they could have stayed in their family homes to finish their story and I wish I still had somewhere I was connected with where my story was part of. Unfortunately my parents married, divorced, remarried, divorced, remarried and divorced. These days I realised that coming home is a state of mind and home is where the heart is….as long as we have each other home could be just about anywhere.
We are faced with the possibility of selling our home too, through necessity unfortunately. I don’t love this house but I do love this house, we have so many options and have discussed so many renovation plans. I won’t miss the noise and the dust but I will miss the 5 minute stroll to the shops and the 6 minute drive to school with no traffic lights just roundabouts and my very first brand new kitchen! This is our second house we’ve bought and I was a wreck thinking about selling up to move here but the adrenaline of new possibilities took over with every lick of the paint brush (and the pain in the bot bot selling as we hadn’t sold before we moved – hello bridging finance… again). Our daughter started her life in the old house, I had a vege patch and a 50+ year old mango tree that would groan with fruit each summer. I had 24 rose bushes that would always come into bloom around A’s birthday, we had roses in the house every day through spring and summer and the last flourish in autumn. I do miss the space of the old house but it had it’s downside too. Where we go next is a mystery, even we don’t know, all we know is it is more likely than not. The thing I am dreading the most is the starting all over again, again. New friends, new shops, new parents, new school to choose… You are an inspiration Corrie! The biggest hurdle is to get hubby to ‘go through things and declutter’ because those ‘I’m not in the mood to do it now, we will do it when we’ve moved’ is still ringing loudly in my ears and you know what? HE STILL HASN’T DONE IT!!!!!!!
We recently moved after 22 years from a large house on a double block to a small house on a single block due to our business of 33 years collapsing . The decluttering included 6 trailer loads to tip , 6 to salvos & many items sold on eBay . Our 50 year old house was brought by a young family who immediately guttered & pulled out the 500 plants & trees which was a shame , don’t go back . We don’t regret moving except less room for vehicles as 2 “kids” still at home . Enjoy the excitement of moving
We moved in November last year. The house that we left was where we lived when we got married and brought our son home to. I don’t like the location or the house itself that we moved to and at 37 weeks with number 2 I’m still sad that we wont be bringing this baby home to the cosy little nest we had with our first. I sobbed, actually sobbed the day we handed back the keys to our old place. So many beautiful memories there. I guess we’ll make them in the new house too.
Best of luck with making new memories with your move. We have been in our current home for 7 years and about to demolish to make a wheelchair accessible home. I am starting to get sentimental but my back will thank me in a place where Coop can be more independent xx I am thinking of saving some floorboards to make a table or door tho!
oh wow what a big thing to do and yes your back will thank you:) I still have to carry elodie a bit and the bigger they get the harder it is but how fabulous for him to have easy access and grow with it. Absolute dedication from his parentsxxxxxxx good luck
I think that in all the houses I have lived in, the positive and the negative things balance each other: my first, where I brought my baby DD home is also where I married stands out. I even looked at it on Google earth and my memories are still there although it has changed a lot. I see your sentimental memories of your Mum in a previous home, Corrie. One place I was glad to get out of was my flat where I lived newly separated, and I will always see the spot where I stood to answer the phone to news of my father’s passing. A lot of memories are family-based aren’t they?
Two of my babies were born in the living room of my last house, our wedding reception was in the backyard and my husband had lived there since he was 6 years old so I was extremely sentimental about leaving our last house. I have realised though that those special memories will always be in my head and my heart long after the house is bulldozed over and a massive apartment block is built. I get a bit sad when I drive by but less and less as more memories are made at our new place. xo
oh such a beautiful post – thanks Corrie and all who have replied. I am SO SENTIMENTAL I actually try to rationalise it in my head to keep myself sane. It is 100% an attachment to memories and for me my homes are the source of all those memories. I will always drive or walk past the little house I grew up in along with almost every other place Ive lived and I love every second of it – just the magic of reminissing is a wonderful thing. My 91 year old grandfather always said to ” hold on to those happy memories and let go of the rest – the mind is a powerful place and its all you’ve got when you’re my age!” Am I attached to my house now? mmmm kind of – my partner built it himself and all sorts of heavy duty life experiences happened throughout that process – yet they’re all just memories – I love the idea of staying here forever and raising our children and our grandchildren staying here with those beautiful martha stewart come brady bunch christmass’ etc yet life has a way of guiding us to where we’re meant to be for whatever that reason is. I never imagined a me – a sydney city girl loving living in blocks of units would now love living on acerage in the gold coast hinterland. Yet I am very aware that all I/we have created in our lives now is pretty much everything we loved and valued when we were growing up – its just that cycle of life thing huh! akunamatata – happy moving Corrie – so excited to see all the beautiful magical memories you will create xx
I drove past our old rental house the other day & it was gone ! There was just an empty block. We had lived here for 7 years & had 3 foster children with us for all those years. When the 2 eldest moved & we only had 1 we moved to a smaller place. We may not have owned it but there were lots of memories there. It was quite sad when I turned into the street & “our” house was gone.
Yes…. I so understand what you are talking about. Married to a military man, we have bought and sold five houses and are in our sixth. Then there were the three rentals as well. We’ve been married 26 years so that it is a lot of transition. Not only is there the challenge of moving (often I have had to do it independently) but there is also changing jobs, trying to get the kids adjusted – some moves were easier than others, and making new friends. And for me – just when I was getting my equilibrium, the career manager would bring a new posting message with a new place. When I visit a place we lived, one of the ways I keep in touch with the past is to drive by the old place and let the memories wash over me. I did that with two of my kids this past winter and we just talked about all the fun things we did and remembered our adventures. We have been 9 years in the house we presently occupy – so this time we have to replace the roof, fix the plumbing etc. Stuff that generally doesn’t happen when you rent or live in a place for a short time. I have a series of three daughters entering and graduating from high school and they needed consistency. But it has come at a price as my husband lived 1400 km away for 3 years and visited every 2 mos, and then he has had two postings in Africa. Tonight he comes home after 8 months away – the house is in chaos – we are renovating a bathroom – hope he likes it!!!
A blubbering mess and have only ever lived in four houses in my life. We still go past our first home we bought our first bubba home to and yell out “hello old house’. The subsequent children who never even lived there have also yelled this out each time we pass. Even before I say it – they just know where it is (only 1.5km away). Last year it went up for auction for the first time since we had it. We were devastated at the deterioration as it has been rented since we left. Wish we had never gone back in there. all the best for your move.
I’ve lived in the same house since I was five. Parent moved out but I stayed behind, because this is my home. It’ll be very hard to leave when the time comes.
Corrie I loved this post! I am so extremely sentimental about our house. We live on just under 2 acres in an old girl roughly 72 years old and that we have spent 17 years of blood, sweat and tears renovating. She carries all of my families greatest memories. My four children were all brought home here, there have been christenings, 1st birthdays, family lunches and dinners, Christmas mornings, lazy days and many family times. My greatest memories of my family lie within these walls. The old Tyre swing in the backyard, the cubby house, the sand pit that I hope one day will alo perhaps see our future grandchildren play on. This past weekend it held a dinner for our youngest son who turned 13 and in September will hold a family dinner again for our oldest daughter who turns 18. Sometimes I will sit on my veranda and look down the driveway and visualize my children younger riding bikes down the driveway, tackling each other on the grass, laughing as the swim in the pool – so very special what a house contains. In our case a life full of wonderful memories.xx