Fresh Experience

"Your [adult] child's life will be filled with fresh experiences. It's good if yours is as well." 

-Dr. Margaret Rutherford

I am beginning to understand why many parents, once their nest has emptied, choose to move to a new house. 

Beyond the practical need to downsize, there is a natural sense of newness to this period of life. 

An awareness of change. 

A desire to make life fresh, 

to roll with the changes, 

to begin again. 

Now personally, I have zero desire to move to a new house. 

But I do feel the need to reinvent this place I call home, and honestly, after a lifetime of raising kids and wrestling pets, the joint could use some work.

So this past month, our floors have undergone some much-needed repair. 

Which means we had to literally move out of the first floor.

New mini desks to replace the big ol' tables that we bought back in the day when we had four desktops in here for our essay-writing daughters. The art remains the same, though I rearranged the white polka dots on the wall from a random orientation to a grid. And that rag rug has since been removed. 

I've found it an interesting experiment to empty my house of every stick of furniture, every lock, stock and barrel of artwork, greenery, throw pillows, and knick-knackery, and see it once again as a completely blank slate.

And now, with my floors finally finished, I have begun the equally interesting process of bringing things back in. 

After the initial adrenaline rush of actually having a place to sit down to eat, I realized that I was in no rush at all. 

Still love this corner of my dining room with a tiny painting, a tinier plant, a chair with an attitude, and my triangle walls. This establishes the light and airy vibe I want for the entire room and that may mean a big change. 

So I've been slowly, slowly bringing my house back to life, re-examining  re-assessing and re-inventing as I go. 

I find that I want less. 

A lot less.

And yes, that means some KonMari karate chops and a lot of tough love as I let go of things I have loved in the past. 

No matter what, the couch stays. As well as the Stockholm pillows, the Ofelia throw, 

and the cute little dog in socks. 

But that's okay. Because life is more interesting when I invite the winds of change into my life, and allow them to literally blow around the furniture. I'm ready for a fresh experience.

* * * * *

Follow every step of my floor restoration and home reinvention journey:

Patience Is A Virtue

Fresh Experience
Gracie's Socks