Saying Goodbye with Gratitude

The movers are coming tomorrow. I think I’m ready. But it is so hard to say goodbye!

I could easily have spent the last three months wallowing in the very real sadness I feel at leaving our beautiful home and our wonderful friends. But I chose not to. I chose instead to think about the great fortune our family has had to live in such an amazing place and to share our lives with so many special people for the last eight years.

I mentioned my favorite Dr. Seuss quote, “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened”, in a past blog about summer vacation coming to an end. It certainly takes on much greater significance as our family ends this chapter of our lives.

This move has been a great lesson to me on the importance of perspective. There are always different ways to view the same situation. The choice is ours. And our happiness depends on it! Andy Rooney got it right when he said, “Happiness depends more on how life strikes you than on what happens.”

At times it has been hard to stay positive, but for the most part I have been able to approach our move with enormous feelings of gratitude. I can’t think of a better place to have raised our children. Each of us has made friendships here that will last a lifetime. We have so many unforgettable memories that will be forever woven into the tapestry of our lives. It makes me so sad to have to say goodbye, but I just keep reminding myself of how very blessed we are for having had the chance to experience all that we did while we were here.

As I drive away from our home for the last time I know I will be smiling, as I wipe away tears, because I am so grateful that it happened.