Home
Home. What a powerful four-letter word, it is.
My father served in the military for almost 30 years and moved a lot. My beginnings were spread out between Alabama, Michigan, Arizona and Louisiana - before I was 8. From then and into my 20s, we lived in 3 different houses. And, over the last 30 years, I’ve moved 11 times. (I am a VERY experienced mover/packer Project Manager, btw.)
Over the past several months, I’ve been working with a client whose home I have decluttered and staged. It went on the market, and has now sold. Soon, I think I’ll be hosting an estate sale and coordinating a pack and move. In the interim between listing and moving, I have looked after this house weekly while the family lives elsewhere.
Some people feel like an empty house - or one that isn’t lived in daily - can feel sad, almost lonely. But, when I open that front door to check in, I hear the laughter that used to echo in the hallways. I can imagine the business that went on in the office. I can hear the teenager shouting from the upstairs loft. I know where the meals have taken place, where the kitchen cookware simmered many meals. I’ve seen the art and the photos, all the things that make a house a home.
I know the smells of the house. I know the sounds of the house. I know that the family who lived here loved this house fiercely and that she means a lot to her owner.
I feel so honored that I have been trusted to care for something so precious. And to have been just a small part of this home’s history. And to know that very soon, she will come to life again for a new family that will make her their home, their place for memories.
As I looked around yesterday, having done my usual walk thru, I realized that this is a place I will miss. Even though I have never spent a night there it will still be hard to say goodbye.
Last week, someone suggested that my Kickstand Services tagline should be “helping from the heart.” I love that. It speaks volumes about what I do with all my clients - be they injured individuals, families, seniors, downsizers, or even empty houses.
