Shafferland 3.0...Goodbyes

 Every time we've moved - which, to be fair, has only been twice until now - I've done a series of "slow goodbyes" to our homes. I've loved those posts and how they've allowed me to celebrate the memories made in each home while acknowledging the sweet sadness that comes with putting a period on making more memories in those homes.

I'm going to do that a bit differently this time, because this has been a different sort of home for us. Because we haven't owned our home at WillowBridge, we've done far less to it than anywhere else we've lived. And because our job was so prominent in the time it required, we also did far less in our homes than we have in the others. But I do want to acknowledge the time we have had here and the life we've lived in this place, so I want to mention a few things from our third home, different though it was.

* I was so grateful that this home afforded us a guest room, though we didn't have too many guests stay in it. We did have a couple of overnight guests from our friend circle, but for the most part, that room was inhabited by the kids in our lives. Our godson spent many nights in that room when we would keep him for the weekend every month or so. He was too little for the big bed, so we set up the pack n play and he slept so well in that room. We are grateful we had the space to offer him and that relationship is a reminder to me that no matter how short our time was here, we will always carry a part of this season of our lives in the relationship we have with him and his mom. (And now we'll have to get our own pack n play, since we won't be able to borrow the WillowBridge one anymore!)

* Our little (literally!) office here probably saw more Zoom calls than writing time, but I did enjoy writing a few pieces in there. From devo readings for our tenants to the fundraiser talk for this past January, I was able to be occasionally creative in that space. And as we leave this home, that little room serves as Lexi's bedroom, so we are grateful for it! She rests best when alone in a room, so I'm glad we have a space to offer her!

* Our living/dining/kitchen area was the space where we spent most of our down time (when we had it) while we were here. We'd escape to this space for quick naps in the middle of long work days. On our weekends, we'd camp out on the couch to watch TV and rest our weary minds. We did a lot of Bible study and praying in this space. The night we got the call about Allen's death, we came to sit in the living room so our cries and conversations wouldn't wake up Tim and Justine, who were sleeping in their apartment on the other side of our bedroom. Though we didn't have time to entertain much, we were able to welcome a few friends in for dinner now and then - and we hosted our small group once before announcing our move. And the kitchen has seen a lot of food prep - mostly for WillowBridge, but still, it was a great space for creating treats! (Oh! We did have our first ever solo Thanksgiving meal in this apartment, and it was pretty tasty!)

* Our master bedroom, though small, was a beautiful sanctuary for us while we lived here. We had hundreds of hours of conversation in that room, late at night when work was finally done, but our minds were too wound up to sleep. And I think I did more praying and thinking in that shower than anywhere else in this apartment. 

Prior to coming here, neither of us had ever lived in a home we didn't own, nor had either of us lived in an apartment (except for college and a few weeks after, for me). We definitely didn't hate apartment life, but we also found it harder to relax in a space that didn't have as much privacy. 

We are grateful for all the memories we made in this home, and it will always be Shafferland 3.0 for us.