Many of you have asked why + how we’re letting so many of our belongings go.
I thought I’d give you a bit of background. Many years ago, when John and I were in our 20’s, we bought a house and had full-time jobs here in PDX. We were doing the house thing, going to Home Depot thing, collecting treasures thing. In the mix of all of that John was diagnosed with Melanoma, requiring lymph nodes to be removed in order to see if the cancer spread. He was 26. Waiting for the news of whether or not the cancer cells had spread was a scary experience for us, but also something that taught us to appreciate one another and life itself. Life is precious and it can go in an instant (something I also knew from losing a parent at a young age to a car accident).
That experience taught us to reexamine our lives every once in a while to make sure we’re happy and truly Living. We realized we were content, but not Joy filled. And so we sold the house, my car, our furniture. We quit our jobs and went off for a long road/camping trip for months with our dog, Bella. We made 30K from the sale of our house, paid our student loan debt, and took the rest (10Kish) and made it last for months on the road.
We let go.
And it was the best thing ever.
Since then, we’ve let go many other times – when we moved to CA for John’s grad school, we I quit my day job, when he did the same, when we sold our last house that we renovated (we sold it to a friend which made it easier), and more.
And now we’re doing it again because we know what happens when we let go of a season of life and welcome in another. We thrive. We grow. We have experiences that expand our hearts.
For this experience, we’re also downsizing which means we couldn’t take it all with us. It has never felt better to let go of anything we couldn’t live without.
I think sometimes we have to let go, even of the things and stuff we love, so we can create room for something even more beautiful 🙂
Click here if you’re interested in reading the full story of our move.
Oh, yes to that
Letting go is so powerful! You are an inspiration in letting it be a springboard for new growth and happiness! Keep on Keeping on, and I know you will LOVE Sisters!
I love this emotion in motion…. My sweet husband of 40 +years and I are not moving but we are “downsizing ” our possessions…..to the minimum. We feel we can breathe again. We too are letting go. It’s all part of our life journey. Cherish life and keeping it simple.🌸
I love this emotion in motion…. My sweet husband of 40 +years and I are not moving but we are “downsizing ” our possessions…..to the minimum. We feel we can breathe again. We too are letting go. It’s all part of our life journey. Cherish life and keeping it simple.🌸❤️😊
Best to you in your transition!
Thank you for sharing your journey.
Your comments hit home and a nice reminder to remember and celebrate what is truly important.
Beautiful Story Kelly Rae, my husband and I are also exploring new places to live. We just finished a new remodel, including a dream studio but our hearts aren’t joy filled being here in Utah, so on to a new adventure😋 Many people asked me on my last move from LA to Park City Utah how can you leave your house and life of 30 years behind? It’s never the house or things you fall in love with it’s the special people in your life that mean the most, and they’ll always be there!😋 Wishing you and your beautiful family good health, contentment and bountiful joy in your new home🙏🏻❌⭕️
YES! Totally agree!
I confess my soul is howling in protest. I grew up in a family that was constantly on the move. I was forever the new kid in class, forever having to make new friends. All my life I’ve craved a permanent home, one where I could sink roots and watch trees grow. You are making this move at the moment that my own family is on the brink of a wrenching move, one way or another. I’m filled with apprehension for the future.
You got this. Change is hard, for sure, and I am confident you will be held and make it through to the other side.
Inspirational post.
We often forget what really matters on this journey.
Thanks for reminding us. 🙂