[I wrote this post on Saturday morning, right before we moved out of our apartment.]
It’s 8am.
My wife and daughter are sleeping.
There are boxes piled up everywhere in our apartment.
Our sofa is in four separate pieces.
Soon our friends (who are absolutely amazing) will come help us move into our new house.
It is the calm before the storm.
Everything has happened so fast that I’ve hardly had time to reflect. But I have a few moments this morning.
This apartment was Olive and my first home together. We’ve lived here 4 years (which is the longest I’ve stayed in one place since elementary school). This was where we started our marriage together. This was Alena‘s first home. We’ve created some great memories here. I’m going to miss this place.
With Alena joining our family, and hopefully another child or two more in the future, our family will have outgrown this home. It is bittersweet moment.
It seems like change is always bittersweet.
Sweet in that life is moving and changing and growing, and don’t we always want things to change? I think deep down every person craves change.
But it’s also bitter in that life is moving and changing and growing, and we’ve gotten used to what we know and we don’t want to let go.
It’s a bit ironic.
We both crave change and fear it at the same time.
As we leave our apartment, we will leave the things that have come to annoy us (dear buyers of our apartment, be warned):
– The fact that we hear any construction that goes on in the building
– The ugly maroon carpets in our hallway
– Our pets (a.k.a. the ant colony and firebrats that we share the apartment with)
– Our shower with the weak water pressure.
As we leave our apartment, we will leave the things we’ve come to love:
– The convenience of having grocery stores, banks, Starbucks, bubble tea, and restaurants across the street
– The spacious bedrooms
– The walk-in closet that goes straight into the bathroom
– The large windows that let in lots of natural light
– Bring at the center of Greater Vancouver where almost everything is a 30-minute drive away
– The view of the beautiful sunsets from our living room window
Last night, Olive and I realized that it would be our last night in the apartment. I think God knew as well, because He gifted us with an amazing sunset (see photo below).
God, thank you for the blessing of this home. We will miss it.
photo credit: Just Us 3 via photo pin cc photo credit: Olive Chan