I will be moving to Stillwater MN, and will be just over four miles away from the barn. Close enough to give treats and get hugs even if I am not riding. I will also be much closer to Joker, and will get to see him more too.
Moving to Stillwater feels in a lot of ways like going back to where I grew up, a small town, with rolling hills, historic buildings, large farms and nestled on the shores of a beautiful river. It looks a lot like Columbia County. The plus, it also has a business core, so unlike Germantown where the nearest grocery store was 30 minutes away, I can get to the real world in about 15 minutes from my new house. Best of both worlds.
As I have been planning for the move it hit me how much how we decorate our homes really represents where we are emotionally in our lives.
This will be the third house I have owned.
My first home I bought I was barely out of my 20's. I was just coming off 10 years of being seriously ill. I was in the process of making a huge career change and wasn't sure where that would go. My life was very unsettled and unsure, and my house ended up the same. Most of it never got decorated or even had furniture even though I lived there about 4 years. I made sure the bedroom and my office were functional, but I never even put a couch in the living room. My life was out of sorts and so was my home. I wasn't sure who I was headed to be and my house reflected that.
Fast forward to 2008, I was approaching 40 and I was well ingrained in my new career, I was professionally stable and that was my prime focus. My personal life was pretty non existent due to travel and my work focus, life was about making a name for myself and that was all I saw. I picked up and moved to MN because it was the best option for my work life. I bought a very classy, elegant townhome in one of those upscale developments where you drive in and think "wow, she's made it". My home was decorated the same way, to impress. Beautiful art on the walls, great furniture. A great place to entertain for work, which I did. But the irony to this home, there was and is very little of me visible anywhere. In my home office I have pictures on canvas of my cats, but other than that anyone could move into my home and it be theirs. The personal effects are so minimal that it was staged and ready to start showing for how I lived in it. I had made it professionally, but I really had no clue yet who I was on the inside and had very little comfort with myself and that was clear in my decorating choices. I was trying to fit in and impress.
I find myself at a very different place as I think about decorating my new home. I have come a lot closer in the last few years to a comfort level with myself and I want to surround myself in my home with things that matter to me not that will matter to anyone who enters my home. I want pictures of my horses and friends and family. I want warm, cozy, comfortable. I want people to know I live there and what is important in my life. If I see something that speaks to me I want it out and visible even if it doesn't match the coffee table or go with the chair. I want to come home and feel surrounded by my life not living it for someone else. If you come to visit expect the curtains may not match the cool cowgirl boot I am using as a door stop or that my show ribbons are going to be decorations in the guest room. I am moving into that time in my life where I am ready to enjoy the life I have built in every way. I love where my life is right now and my house truly will be my home this time!!!
Hey anyone with a truck want to help make that happen in 3 weeks *smile*
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