What an unusual year it's been, and the holidays make the changes even more obvious. We're moving from New Hampshire, to Fountain Hills, a lovely town in Arizona, just outside Phoenix. So rather than decorating for the holidays, our living room (above) and the entire house is empty now … and NH is no longer where I'll go when I want to be home for the holidays.
When Does Your House Become a Home?
When you're looking for the perfect house, you try to look past the furnishings and focus on the floor plan, the windows and views, the things you can't change. You know your decorating style is different than the sellers and you try to visualize where your furniture will go, and how it will look and fit your lifestyle.
As we started preparations for moving, people asked if I loved my new house. It didn't take long to realize I wasn't prepared for this question. We picked the house for it's location (clear skies), the backyard (for my husband's observatory) and working at home (2 offices). It was surprising too, that more than 80% of my photos were of the backyard. I had to use the MLS photos to show people what the house looked like inside.
So it was strange arriving at my new home, an empty house with only an air bed my husband had bought. Fortunately I only had to spend 3 days like this, waiting for the movers to arrive. There was just enough time to realize how little personality a house has until you add the furnishings. So I wrapped up a few key items like getting the rugs shampooed and a new washing machine and dryer installed.
What Home for the Holidays Really Means
The movers arrived around 8:30 Sunday morning, and we worked until after 8:00 that night. We started with the logistics of how they'd move things destined for the lower level. My job was to check off the 500+ items coming off the van, which is a very important job (to be explained in another article). Boxes don't have any personality but once the furniture started arriving, I was amazed at how quickly it felt like my home.
The house is full of furniture and lots of boxes waiting to be unpacked, but I'm not there because it was time to head … home for the holidays. We assume it's our home, the place where we live, that nurtures us. For this holiday I have 2 houses but neither is where I want to spend the holidays. For me, being home for the holidays is wherever my family is and that means Florida.
We're having a great holiday doing lots of fun things (making gingerbread houses) at my son's home. We also get to explore local attractions like Eola Park in downtown Orlando and parks with good, old fashion playgrounds. We certainly feel like we're home for the holidays!
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