The House Stays. The Memories Come With Us.

Today we close on our house. Everybody keeps asking if I’m sad. I’m really not. I’m grateful. That house has been LIVED in—a place full of kids, grandkids, laughter, noise, food, and over-the-top holidays. 😂

Before there was a pool, the backyard was full of hula hoops, learning to bat a ball, uncle Mackey spinning the kids all around!  There were large Easter eggs hunts and ping pong tournaments even a dart game or two. Kids ran everywhere, while footballs flew outside and Thanksgiving dinner came together inside.

Then came the pool: swimming, cookouts, family gatherings, and wet towels everywhere. 😂

We didn’t just buy that house. We designed it—the gardens, outdoor spaces, my writing hut, and the library, which I AM going to miss. 😂

When I think about it, I think about the people we loved, the traditions we created, and all the ordinary moments that became favorite memories. I can leave with a full heart, thankful we had the chance to live there and love there. And now, we get to give someone else that chance.

A new family will walk through those doors, settle into those rooms, and slowly make the house their own. Maybe there will be more backyard games, Thanksgiving football, birthday parties, Christmas mornings, and wet towels by the pool. More laughter. More traditions. More life.

We got our turn, and it was a REALLY good one. We filled that house with love, and now somebody else gets to fill it with theirs. That doesn’t feel like an ending. It feels like the most beautiful kind of continuation.

So today, we say goodbye with gratitude—not because we’re leaving something behind, but because we were lucky enough to have it in the first place. 

We hand over the keys knowing the memories will come with us, while the house gets the opportunity to hold someone else’s. And as one family begins their story there, we get to begin ours somewhere new: a new house, new spaces, new projects, a new library, and memories we haven’t made yet.

Closing a chapter doesn’t have to be sad. Sometimes you can turn the final page with a full heart, smile at everything between the covers, and look forward to the story waiting ahead.

Today we hand over the keys. And tomorrow? Tomorrow... We start writing the next chapter.