Saying Goodbye!

Hello everyone, sorry about the radio silence.

It has been a momentous and significant few weeks here.  After 15 years raising my children in a beloved family home, we have finally had to say goodbye to our home.

It has been a difficult few years for me and my girls, and now the door to one chapter has closed.  Letting go is hard, but on 17th July we moved into our new building site home and into a new chapter.

There are immediate challenges in front of us, as we learn to adapt to a much smaller space in need of renovation and decoration. But in time, it will feel like home as we step into new territory, new beginnings and new opportunities.

Occasionally I like to write poems when I need to express deep emotion.  I hope you don't mind me sharing one with you today:

"Goodbye Old Girl"

Tall and serene you have stood,

Through decades of change, trouble and peace.

Never flinching;

Loyal to your heritage.

It was love at first sight;

Your rustic beauty drawing us in.

A little neglected, worse for the wear

Of many noisy, boisterous families

Taking you for granted.

Your faithfulness to yet more change was steadfast

As we moved in and embraced your protective air.

Your return to us was ten-fold what we gave to you.

Fresh paint and paper for security and stability.

Even when we extended your boundary, you didn’t fight or resist.

Your breath moved through the space,

Affirming

Nurturing.

And what an experienced nurturer you are.

You have seen the best of us,

And the worst.

Watched us thrive, succeed, fail and overcome.

And still you remained

Faithful,

Unwavering,

Unconditional.

Like a beacon in the night,

You guided us, anchored us

So we could return to you time and again,

Comforted and calmed by your ethereal essence,

HOME.

These Victorian roots are resolute

In your mission to care.

To safeguard those entrusted to you,

Harboured from the elements of time and tide.

And so you will continue, long after we have gone,

Embracing the next family with your ageless arms.

For you are eternal,

Immoveable

Tenacious.

Our short 15 years in your presence

Will be treasured and stored.

Immortalised in pictures and memories which can never fade.

We say thank you, a thousand thank you’s,

As we empty your rooms and close your indomitable door for the final time.

We will not be sad.

To mourn is to betray you,

To deny the depths of good you bestowed in us.

So we say ‘Thank you old girl’.

Thank you for the life and joy and triumphs you embraced in us.

Grant us your blessing as we move on

And start afresh with a little piece of you always with us.

You will be forever in our hearts.