house vs. home

We've officially been residents of Ontario for more than a month. Wow. That month really flew by! With the unpacking and the holidays and the baby, and all of our (often fruitless) "settling in" errands, I can't believe we've already been here for that long.

It has been truly wonderful to be close by for these visits and milestones, and not-so-wonderful to be back for ice storms and temperatures so cold that they rival an uninhabitable planet.

The wonderful parts, such as the birth of my niece Zoey

The not-so-wonderful parts

(although it was really beautiful for those few days when we lived in Narnia)

We have been checking things off of our "settling in" checklist, or at least trying, and even though we don't have licenses or health coverage yet, we have gym memberships... so that's something... right?

One big item on the list of things on our plate is selling our townhouse in Seattle. We love that house. To find a new house that we love here, we really have our work cut out for us because what we had there doesn't even close to exist here. Brand new, never lived in house, in an established neighbourhood, seconds away from restaurants and shops, with a view of a lake, mountains and minutes away from downtown and two major highways. And it had a garage...which seems especially important after just having a 30cm snow dump all over our car.

Going through the process of moving out of our home, de-personalizing it and listing it has been really tough for me. It was hard for me to pack up and leave behind an empty house. And I'm really happy with the way that the staging and photos turned out, but why is someone else's stuff in my home?! Well, that's just the thing. It's not my home anymore. It's a beautiful house, but it's no longer my home.

And then there was Birdie... our house at the end of moving day

I feel lucky and grateful to have a temporary home with my parents while we look for a new house. And I look forward to finding a new house to turn into a home. But that was our first home (as home-owners). The home we lived in as newlyweds. The home base for all of our amazing Seattle adventures. The home that we shared with our visitors. The home that we brought skinny, malnourished Mitzi to and built up her health and confidence. That home was full of lots of memories... happy ones like parties and pie-baking and cozy nights on the couch, and not-so-happy ones like recovering from jaw surgery. But that's what a home is. The place where you build your memories. The place where you feel safest. The place where you feel most comfortable.

I hope that the people who buy that house love it as much as we did. I hope that they build a life full of memories there. And I look forward to finding the next place where we will build ours.

But first, we need to sell it! So if you know anyone in Seattle who is looking for a great house to make their home, please feel free to point them to our listing! 2042 Eastlake Ave E, Unit C

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