moving to the lake...

“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” – Alan Watts

 

Mr. Clark and I bought a lake house this weekend and my head is reeling! It’s a classic case of “be careful what you wish for, for you may surely get it.” We’ve been talking about scaling back and moving to the lake for a few years, but had made no concrete steps in that direction. Then all of the sudden, Kaboom! A For-Sale-By-Owner pops up on Zillow – the lake house of our dreams – on a whim we go see it, we fall in love with it and make an offer. The offer was low enough we assumed the seller would counter and then we wouldn’t be able to afford the place…Imagine our surprise when he accepted our offer instantly! OMG! We just bought a lake house!

 

The initial emotion was euphoria – it’s a well-built log cabin on four acres on a deep water cove with a dock and a lovely view. Just under 1,900 sq. feet, it’s significantly smaller than our current home which means I just might be able to keep it clean and in good repair. There’s a loft and a wrap-around porch and a sun room along the back of the house with a luscious view of the forest and lake. No nearby neighbors, plenty of wildlife and a peace and quiet that is profound. No more city noise for us - nothing but the sound of the birds and crickets and wind in the trees.

 

Amazing! It felt like it was meant to be - the whole thing happened so quickly and easily. Then, the next day it hit me, hard – this meant we would have to leave our beloved big white house and a yard so large and lovely we call it Clark Park. The place our kids grew up…a place so full of happy memories, laughter and love…rooms full of visitors, family and friends…all of those long pleasant evenings on the back porch…The place that has sheltered and nurtured our family for 26 years will no longer be called home. I get tears in my eyes just typing about it.

 

When we called our kids to tell them the news, they were kind, supportive and understanding, but also very sad – especially since our decision was such a surprise. Some houses are just houses, others become homes. Our house has a soul of its own, a soul that other families who have lived here, other kids who have grown up and played here, have experienced. She’s just such a special, spectacular, grand old hostess…             

 

She was condemned when we bought her – nearly gutted by a fire. We restored her, moved in and have loved her dearly ever since. She was the hang-out house when our kids were growing up. Our daughter’s best friends stayed here during the week of her wedding. Our son and his wife got married here. These walls have seen our best times and our worst. Our pets, so many, so loved over the years, are all buried in the back yard.  

 

Clark Park has been a labor of love and a work in progress for years. Initially, our kids were small and life was very busy. As they grew up, life moved from busy to hectic, so we didn’t do much to create an outdoor living space until it became time for their high school graduation parties. With those, the lawn and landscaping started creeping slowly backwards, displacing privet and kudzu. When the kids went off to college, the energy Mr. Clark and I used to pour into them went into the yard. Year after year, our once overgrown acre became a private park. Flowerbeds, paths, shrubbery; hammocks, swings, benches; bird feeders and yard art – lots of bird feeders and yard art. The pergola we built for the wedding is now covered in jasmine – such a sweet scent in the spring!

 

When Mr. Clark was out of work after the crash in 2008, he threw himself into gardening and making homemade hot sauce, pasta sauce and salsa. When he found work again, it became a team effort and now we have a 1,200 sq. foot garden with some of the nicest soil you’ll ever sink a seed into. Our “Ed Bob’s” products have become nearly famous because each year we make so much that we have to give A LOT away. We have “Ed Bob’s” “customers” (you can’t buy it, we give it away…) as far away as California, New York and Alaska.  

 

It was easy to forget how much this all means when I was grousing about yard work or weeding or washing all of these d%&m windows…Easy to long for a bungalow or a lake house…fewer chores…a different life. And, then we got that and all of the sudden it’s clear how much I love this place and all the things I’ve been grousing about.  

 

Change is hard; that is to be expected. A big change, like moving away from the best home EVER and beginning to sort through the few things that will go with us and all the things that must stay to be sold or be given away…Well, right now that feels like an awfully large task.  

 

“We’ll have new adventures there,” my daughter said, hopefully, her voice wobbling from fighting back tears…”This is a chance to make new memories,” my son added, with a big lump in his throat.

 

Big house, beautiful yard, ridiculously productive garden - we’re going to miss you so much! It’s a blessing to be able to chart a new course and start into a new life, but there’s going to be a lot of tears, throat lumps and sadness, on the way to that lake house.

 

Since we’ve taken the leap and plunged in, now our challenge is to turn this move into a bittersweet dance.