Two Months Out - Transition is Hard

For years, the fear of selling our house—and the lingering worry of whether we could make our money back—hung over my head. But as we placed our house on the market and we received positive feedback, that fear turned into a strange mix of excitement and a seeping feeling of sadness. Seeing potential buyers line up to view our home brought unexpected mixed emotions.

The night we received two excellent offers; I sat with a bizarre clash of emotions. I was thrilled, yet deeply heavy-hearted…moving and leaving this phase of life was becoming increasingly real.

Later that evening, I was driving my daughter, Ava to her softball game. As she processed what it actually meant to sell our home, she intuitively asked if I was happy. That was the moment we started talking about transition.

My husband and I have moved now 12 times throughout our careers. As a couple, we know exactly what it’s like to drop into planning mode, button up an old life, and transition toward a new horizon. We treat it like a military operation: we draft a detailed plan, establish clear milestones, task out responsibilities, and execute them one by one. We have always been really good at that side of things.

But that doesn't mean it isn't incredibly stressful.

The hardest part happens when I step away from the logistics—the part of the process where I feel a sense of control—and let the emotional side seep in. It's the sudden, heavy thought of leaving the home we created. It's realizing we won't walk through these rooms, prepare food in our kitchen, or eat at our favorite neighborhood restaurants again. It’s watching the beautiful local trees bloom and knowing they won’t be ours to see next spring.

As I explained to Ava, transition is hard, and it’s okay to allow those emotions to come in. You have to feel the sadness of what you leave behind, pause, and then look toward the horizon. What exciting things do we have to look forward to?

I told her to put those future images in her mind. We need to remind ourselves that in just a few months, we will be living out our dream. Even though this middle period is full of disruption, we will come out on the other side.

I asked her to count how many homes she and her brother had lived in during their 13 years of life. The answer was six. We talked about the unique beauty of each place, the fun memories we made, the genuine sadness we felt every single time we packed up to leave, and then the fun memories and routines we made in a new location.

Then I asked her: "What was the one common thing that made every single house feel like ours?"

She thought about it and wisely said, "Our family has always been the consistency. We've remained the same."

She nailed it. Home truly is where the heart is. I realized that if you have a solid core of love and a shared dream, you can get through just about anything. Some dreams are chased independently, while others are built together as a couple or a family. But when you speak those dreams aloud and share them with the people you love, they become a collective reality you can all strive for.

Turning Toward the Horizon

It is completely normal to feel a clash of thrill and heartbreak when you step outside your comfort zone. If you are standing at your own crossroads right now, remember that a period of disruption is just the space between where you've been and where you are going.

If this story resonated with you, I’d love for you to share a piece of your journey below. How do you handle the emotional side of saying goodbye to a chapter of your life while keeping your eyes on the dream ahead?