What a difference a year makes. We all have heard this said before and it’s so true. This past year has been quite crazy. We all have had our lives changed, in some way, because of the global pandemic that is our world right now. For us, my husband and I, it put things into perspective so to speak. You see, we both lost siblings this past year, not from Covid-19, from other illnesses unexpectedly. It helped us to see that life is so very short and quite unpredictable.

Back in 2018, our oldest son graduated from university and took a job in the Midwest. My husband and I moved him out there, halfway across the country, to start his new life. In doing so, we fell in love with the area. It was so beautiful and there was a lot to offer from the many small local eateries, breweries, and shops, to the many various outdoor activities. The people were very friendly and made you feel welcome. I remember telling my husband, while out to dinner one night, that I wanted to move to the Midwest when our other two children graduated. It was just a wild dream that he and I shared, but it was always at the forefront of our minds.

As the years went by, and we visited our son in his new life, we knew that we wanted to turn our dream into a reality. Our youngest two were both set to graduate, this year, from university and high school respectively. At the beginning of the year, my husband started applying for jobs in a few different states in the Midwest. He quickly received a job offer and we new our lives were about to change drastically. You see, he and I both grew up in the same suburban city and lived their all of our lives. We married, bought a house, raised our children, and never left. Some people move at least a few times in their lives, but not us. We knew this was going to be both scary and exciting.

My husband accepted that job offer and had to move a few months before us. I stayed to sell our home and he took on the roll of finding us a new place to live. Yes, I actually put all of my trust in him and our realtor to find our new home, and they did! They found a house with good bones, in a great neighborhood. You can always change the house, but you can’t change the neighborhood.

Fast forward a few months, we have since sold our family’s home. We have seen our youngest two children graduate. Our daughter accepted her dream job in a new state and our youngest went off to university. My husband and I, well we moved into our new forever home.

Our new home…….was it love at first sight for me? Not exactly. I was a little taken aback, however, I could see past all of its flaws. The house had dirty worn wall to wall carpeting and outdated stained oak trim and doors throughout. In the two full baths, the shower pans had been painted, at some point, probably to try and freshen them up. This only resulted in peeling paint that made them look very dirty. There were also peel and stick vinyl floor tiles, in one of the bathrooms, peeling up off of the subfloor. The list could go on and on, but you get the idea. Despite all of its flaws, however, I could see past all of that. What I could see, and what my husband saw, was the beautiful neighborhood and the potential to make this new house into something beautiful and welcoming.

So now that we are empty nesters, well sort of, we will be enjoying each others company and exploring our new state. I hope you follow along, with us, as we turn this diamond in the rough into our beautiful forever home.