Goodbye, house with one tree

We're headed to the title company to sign the papers selling our first home to a new family. It's bittersweet to me: I love the space in our new house and the large yard with all its trees, but the old house was OUR house. We purchased it eight years ago, just after our wedding - before kids, before a minivan, before real careers.

Here are some memories of the house with one tree (a nickname awarded by Mitchell):

• Bringing home babies. Both Mitchell and Noah were welcomed into this loving home with family and friends in the driveway.
• The passing of Tigger. Mitchell experienced his first great loss in this house, when Tigger went to the great beyond.
• Friends, friends everywhere. Aside from the wee hours of the morning, there was almost always someone outside to say "hello" when we came home.
• The patio out back. Paul put love into designing and hand-laying the flagstone patio out back - in the heat of the summer while I relaxed in the air conditioning inside (albeit on bed rest during the end of the pregnancy with Noah).
• Playing in the yard. One of my favorite photos is of Mitchell playing in the sprinkler in the front yard.

So, new family: I hope you'll grow cherished memories in your new home. And, I'm sure we'll see you on the block sometime soon.