When Casey and I moved from our house on Meier last summer, I remember feeling very sad when it came time to leave. Now keep in mind, I hated that house. It had the worst kitchen EVER, a chicken wire fence that the dogs continually jumped, window AC units with duct tape frames, and more. But despite the filth and frustrations, that house held so many moments for me.

I will never forget the shock of the Friday night in February, opening my front porch door to find Mary Ann standing there wrapped in a giant red ribbon, surprising me for my birthday. I remember making my bed on a sunny Saturday afternoon, when Leah called to tell me that Greg had proposed to her on the beach. I can point to the exact spot on my hallway floor that I sunk to, the Tuesday night that Lindsey called to tell me that her dad was going to die. I can still feel myself racing in the door from the pouring rain on a Friday after work, to find Casey waiting in the dining room with a little white ring box.

When we left the house on Meier, as excited as I was for our new house, I was still sad. So much had happened there – it was our first house together. Casey had proposed to me in the dining room, and I felt like I was going to lose that memory when we left. And here I am one year, and one house later, and I can still remember it like it was yesterday.

It’s been quite a year at the Inverness house – really, it feels like it’s been longer than that. A lot has changed in just a year. This house will always hold a special place in my heart. In my adult life, this is the house I grew up in. It is the house where Casey and I really grew together. And unlike the Meier house, I have really really loved the house we are leaving…

I am sad to leave, but I am so excited to see what the next house holds for us. I am almost certain this will be the house where I cut off my finger in a kitchen disaster. But I also hope it is a house with a lot of visitors, where the dogs can roam all day long, and where we will find what we are looking for along this crazy path we’re paving.