"Home is wherever I'm with you."
While this quote is true it doesn't make saying goodbye to our house here in Hawaii any easier. Moving here was rough on me, I began having anxiety attacks, lost a ton of weight, and fought to regain my health my first year on island. Our apartment in Kailua didn't help my anxiety situation with neighbors from hell and Quinn's upcoming deployment, so when we got the call about base housing we felt really blessed. When we told our family the new address my grandma jokingly replied that we had been "delivered by the house on Moses" and looking back I truly think she was right.
I remember the first day after we moved in the ladies from my women's group came to cover the house in prayer and anoint the front door. I walked out to greet them and locked myself out! Quinn was able to come back from work and let us all in, even joining the initial prayer. That day coming down the stairwell Tami prayed for safety over me if I were to get pregnant and have a child during our time here, little did she know three years later I would be waddling up and down those stairs, slowly and painfully making my way up and down after my c-section, and now carrying a hyper-healthy 19lb baby boy, every time thinking about her words.
This house has been the base for many celebrations... Birthdays, Easters, Thanksgivings, Christmas, Independence Days, Promotion Parties, Deployment Farewells/Returns. It has also housed tears and been a safe haven for those who needed it. Our true friends lets themselves in, help themselves to the fridge, and know they are welcome anytime. I remember one day having a bunch of ladies over, one of them had invited a friend, I was so used to everyone helping themselves I felt terrible when this girl shyly came up to me asking if she could have a glass of water!
The two spare rooms in this house have changed multiple times, Hunter's room was originally the office/man cave, then it was switched to the guest room, and now it's his nursery. I know he won't remember the room or care- but when we moved in we could see the ocean from his window, 3.5yrs later the tree is so tall it's all you can see when you look out!
I brought Moku home during Quinn's first deployment, he was my "battle buddy" for those late night TV marathons when I couldn't sleep. There are plenty of pee stains on our nasty linoleum floors from his escapades under the couch and book cases... They just add character, right? Guess I better buy some bleach!
We announced our pregnancy on Easter in our living room to all of our closest friends. We brought Hunter home and he and I practically lived on the couch his first 2wks of life. I started a photography business from our office computer. I found out I got the job with the realtors in our kitchen. My sister spent a spring and Christmas break here. My parents visited countless times. My friend Mandy came to stay with me all the way from Maryland.
I've laughed, cried, dreamed, had panic attacks, planned, learned, and grown in this house. We've received good news such as pregnancy and wedding announcements along with the bad news of friends passing away, getting divorced, or losing jobs.
A house is not a home unless you make memories in it. So as I remove the curtains, take all the photos off the walls, store my linens, and pack my suitcases in preparations of the movers... I will choose to focus on the memories. If I don't, a breakdown awaits.
