Right Where I Belong

It’s been a whirlwind of a life between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. I only went one place to shop on “Black Friday” and that was to the realtor’s office. We put an offer in on a house after seeing it the previous Sunday. On Sunday at the open house I had no intention of this being the house. The location was right, and that’s what mattered the most, still within the limits of my neighborhood of 12 years. Well, after spending 45 minutes in this house it was evident that it was indeed the house.

By the motivation of driving by the “new” house four times a day to get to and from my kids’ school we were able to get our house cleaned, de-cluttered and neutralized in just over a week’s time in order to get on the market. The “new” house can only be ours if we sell the house we are in now. I can honestly say I have only been as exhausted as I’ve been in the past three weeks two other times in my life: when I was pregnant!

Our “new” house is still within our trick or treating boundary and when I told a friend how close we were moving she laughed at the idea. My neighborhood is filled with neighbors with an abundance of kindness I thought only existed on TV. Yesterday I brought one of my neighbors, who I don't see very often who is in her 80s, mail that was accidentally delivered to me. WE were hurriedly heading to my kids’ concerts at school and then heading out of town.

She told me she and other neighbors were sad to see the “For Sale” sign go up in my yard. I had called a few close neighbors ahead of time, but not everyone. She said that she understood that our family needed more space and have outgrown our home. I told her where we'd be moving and how we looked at houses in other areas but they didn't feel right because I love this neighborhood. Her reply was simple, "That's because you belong here." She warmed my heart and made me feel so thankful for bringing the envelope to her door rather than simply giving it back to the mail carrier.

One of life's basic needs is the feeling of belonging.

May you all be where you feel you belong this holiday week.