The large rectangular box of the moving truck pulled out of their driveway. Tom and Judy stood on the front steps, hand in hand, and watched it slowly head down the street.
It was all gone. A lifetime of furniture, gadgets and memories heading for a new destination. A new life. This life, the life they had known and loved for many years was over. The home empty.
And if they were honest with themselves, their hearts were a little empty also.
Their neighbors and friends had thrown them a goodbye party. “We’ll come and visit” many had said. “Please do, we’d love to have you” Judy answered. It was just something to say.
They had spent the few months or so organizing and sorting all their stuff. They were downsizing, so much of it had to go elsewhere. It came down to three piles: keep, donate, or throw away. That became a difficult task for them.
“What about all these drawings and artwork from the kids’ elementary school days?” “How about all these boxes of old photos? They tell the story of our life, we have to keep them.” “Yes you’re right, I haven’t worn those clothes in years. Let’s donate them.” “Should we just get rid of this old furniture and buy new stuff?”
On and on it went. Sometimes they would sit on the floor in a room for hours as they looked through old photos, old scrapbooks and read old journals. “This is our life darling. This is all of it. How do you pick and choose what matters and what doesn’t? It all matters, all of it is us.”
Eventually, as time ticked by and the final date rolled closer, they became more ruthless in their decision making. “This whole process is painful. It makes you realize you are near the end. Where did the time go? It went so fast.”
Their lives were being divided and separated into boxes.They were moving from one big box into a smaller box. “How can a person’s life be determined like this? How can we sum it all up in a few boxes?” wondered Tom.
After the moving truck had gone down the street, around the corner and out of sight, Tom and Judy looked into each others’ eyes. Tom put his arm around Judy. “It will be alright dear. Everything will work out.” They went back into the empty house.
They stood together in the front entry and scanned their lovely home. So many years, so many memories. Holiday gatherings in the big family room, birthday parties in the backyard, baking cookies in the kitchen, family movie nights on the comfy couch, the kids coming down the stairs in their pajamas… Judy began to cry.
“Are we doing the right thing Tom? I thought I was prepared but… this is hard, really hard.” Tom pulled her close and hugged her. “This place, this town, it just doesn’t fit us anymore. We know that.”
They slowly and silently walked through their home one last time, each deep in their own thoughts and memories. This was it. They would be walking out the back door for the last time in a few more minutes. They made sure the doors were locked and went out to their car. They admired their backyard which they had spent so many years in. The young couple who had bought their home were moving in the next day so these were Tom and Judy’s final moments of a life that was about to be a past life.
“It’s time to go. Let’s begin our new life. We made this decision a year ago and now the time has arrived,” Tom said over the roof of the car to Judy on the other side. She nodded and got in the car. Tom stopped at the end of the driveway. “I love you, let’s start our new adventure.” He turned the car down the street and into a new life.
*** Over the past few years there have been many moves by many people in our lives. Some friends just moved away this morning. Moving is hard, for the ones who move and the ones who are left behind. Life becomes comfortable but then a point is reached where a change is necessary. Then, new growth occurs, growth which was unexpected. For everyone who has gone through these changes recently, congratulations and “best of luck” to you all.
Until next time, take care of yourself. Thanks for reading.
Beautiful. Now think about this as not just being a home you're leaving, but an entire city you called your entire life.
We will all miss them. But if we hadn't moved, we wouldn't have met each other to being with. To quote Janis Joplin:
"Don't you know when you're loving anybody, baby
You're taking a gamble on a little sorrow
But then who cares, baby
'Cause we may not be here tomorrow"