Slow Goodbyes: Our Pirogi

Well thank you for being so gracious about EVERYTHING as I've bid farewell to our house. {We aren't gone from it yet, to clarify, but I'm in that awkward in-between stage, saying goodbye and hello, so this is part of the goodbye. 

I figured it might border on tacky to bid farewell to the bathrooms in the house. Trust me. You don't want all the stories from those rooms. HA! {Although we could always revisit the orange hair debacle...}

But I did want to conclude my slow goodbyes by bidding a proper farewell to our beloved outdoor living space. Our "pirogi" as we call it. I know some of you are new here and are {rightfully} confused at this point in time.

When Ryan and I got married, we wanted to do something with a cement slab behind our garage, and I suggested putting up a pergola of some sort. In one of our conversations, Ryan got a wee bit confused on the word and started calling it a pirogi. And pirogi it is TO THIS DAY.

Ours is not actually a pirogi at all, but a metal gazebo with vinyl curtains that make the most lovely shade on hot summer days. We purchased it right after we got married and used it to shelter our too-good-to-be-true hammock for two and our little table for two. We parked our fire pit right outside and we spent many lovely evenings on that slab of patio, feeling the breeze in our hair {well I guess that part was just me} and enjoying the serenity of the pirogi.

We put flowers and ferns around to dress up the living space, and I have to say, it turned out far better than I ever would have dreamed. {I wrote about our adventures here if you want to read it.} Pretty much any evening that was nice enough, we'd carry our plates outside and eat there, even if our schedule was so tight that we only had ten minutes to eat. We took naps in the hammock and drank coffee by the fire and invited friends over to share the space with us whenever possible.

We even did last year's Christmas card photo shoot in that pirogi!! What a special place.

People have asked us if we're taking it with us, and the answer is no, and here's why: the new house comes with one of its own!! It will be more like an ACTUAL pirogi {pergola} and we are so excited to position our little bits of furniture under it and enjoy a same-but-different summer.

In truth, I'll miss our backyard. In the last 16 years, it has become a private little sanctuary here in the middle of town. I'll miss Grandma's lilac bushes that smell so divine in the spring. I'll miss the smattering of tulips that pop up here and there, and I have no idea who planted them. I'll miss the breeze in the big tree and the memories of summer picnics with Grandma and Grandpa and the whole family.

It's pretty bare now: our pirogi stands as a naked metal frame, awaiting its spring canopy. And a patch of dark cement is all that's left to show where the fire pit and plant stands were. The grass is just starting to green up for the year, and the first tulips are about to pop through. I'm hoping I can smell the lilacs one last time before we go...they should be popping out in just a few days. Our last spring in this home...bittersweet.

But I am so excited to carry our fire pit into our new yard and begin a new chapter of memories in a new space. {And when I say I am excited to carry the fire pit, I mean I am excited to take pictures of Ryan carrying the fire pit...}

The space will look very different, but the chance for amazing memories is exactly the same. And I'm excited for that.