This is not actually new news… the sale was closed on September 14, and we accepted an offer over a month before that! We haven’t lived in the red brick house for a while now.
It was a wonderful first home that held so many good memories–bringing home 2/3 of our kids, hosting Eric’s family and our friends, endless walks around our beautiful neighborhood and simply enjoying the sanctuary of our wooded backyard–and also many hard ones (mostly during the pandemic, which lasted for over half of our time there).
Eric and my dad spent a lot of time in July finishing up little projects to get it showing-ready. We listed it in late July and it sold 11 days later. Faster than I expected for sure. Then we had ~40 days to figure out what to do with our furniture and possessions (oh, and line up a temporary place to live lol) while the buyers figured out financing.
I thought we would spend much longer in the red house than we did, and a lot longer in Edina. After all, my family moved to Edina alllll the way back in 2002; minus my 3 1/2 years at Carleton–and I even spent my summers at home–and our year in the Bay Area, it has been my home for almost my entire life.
But the pandemic clarified our lifestyle priorities and things have not turned out that way. I’m excited for the future, and still a little sad to be leaving behind the comforts and familiarity of home.
No matter where we go in the world, Edina will always be my hometown. My elementary, middle and high school experiences; my first crush, first dance, first date; where I met my best friend, struggled with mental illness, my parents divorced, I pulled my college acceptance letter from the mailbox, gave birth to all of my children, experienced the pandemic and many other lovely and difficult things.
It’s a comfortable, safe and picturesque place, where one can live a good life. It is just not the life we want for ourselves or our family. I will always be a square peg trying to fit into a round hole there; it’s forever my home but not where I belong at the same time.
Now… as to where we are going? That is the last of the “three big things” I have to share. But you’ll have to wait until Tuesday to find out! ;P
xx Claire