the moment a house feels like home

My goodness — I can’t believe it’s been 10 days since I’ve checked in. I’m so sorry — obviously, we’ve been moving; but also, all three of us have been sick, like fever-chills-coughing-sneezing sick, which has slowed down our moving considerably. But Marcus and Alex are back to 100%, and while I still have a lingering cough, I’m feeling worlds better as well. And then I looked up, and 10 days had passed.

Our move still isn’t complete — our pod remains about 30% full, I hope I can empty it today, but good Lord I’m tired of boxes — and the apartment still needs to be cleaned and the keys turned in. But our house is starting to feel like Our House, and it’s pretty much taken the last 10 days for that to happen. The first few nights in the house felt strange — like we were spending the night in someone else’s home. But then a moment came when we realized we were home. And the moment it happened was different for each of us: for me, it was finding the emu caller — a gift from an Australian friend — intact, and placing it on the bookshelf, one similar to the one where it sat in our old home. For Alex, it was eating dinner on the couch on Friday night, binge-watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine (eating dinner on the couch and bingewatching shows is a Friday night family tradition). And for my husband, it was pulling the dining table out of the pod.

The story about this dining table is a long one for another day, but suffice to say that it was one of the first furniture purchases Marcus and I made after we got married, and several times over it has left us, only to eventually return. We were stunned that it survived the flood, but it appears it’s meant to be a part of the family. When we wheeled the top through the front door, and the three of us fitted it into its base with a satisfying thunk, Marcus whispered, “The table is back.” And so it was.

There’s still much to be done — our Christmas guests arrive next week, we still have furniture to be delivered, and I haven’t bought a single Christmas gift yet, not one — but I’m back to a more frequent posting schedule, I promise. How are you guys? Ready for the holidays?

Tell me something good.

Soundtrack: This must be the place by Shawn Colvin

don’t forget your holiday gift for yourself: create.2019

Thanks so much to all of you who have already registered for my brand new ecourse, create.2019! If you haven’t already registered, I hope you’ll join me: in this new e-course, you’ll receive exercises and prompts helping you reflect on 2018, dream about what you want 2019 to look like, and make a plan to set those dreams in motion.

It’s the perfect gift for yourself. Only US$ 60, no matter where it the world you are.

I hope you’ll join me, friends. Registration closes Friday, December 28, 2018.

Let’s #makelight together for 2019.