Today I met the family that will be moving into my old house. I stopped by to pack up and/or stow away our last remaining possessions, and then I turned over the house key.

It’s a very good feeling, no question, to have moved beyond moving and to have our home in the hands of another family, who can now start building their own memories there. But I have to admit that this trip to Atlanta has been a little more difficult for me that I thought it would be. Maybe it’s the head cold I feel coming on that’s making me feel a little bit down. Or maybe it’s something else–like the fact that I’m letting go of one of the tethers that has kept me connected to this area, and much as I love where we are now living, it still hurts a bit to let go.

Whatever it is, today was definitely a day of mixed emotions.

The head cold–that I know how to treat (and yes, I’ll be toddling off to bed soon enough). But that other feeling–it’s been a theme of sorts this year: letting go.

I think I know myself enough to say that it’s not the house that is stirring up these feelings; it’s the connection to this place that I’m feeling slip away, and the life we lived here as a family.

More specifically, I guess, I’m thinking about the friends we’ve left behind.

I’m sure I will stay in touch with many of those folks who were a part of my daily life here in Atlanta, but as I let go of this piece of property that tied me to the area, I also feel as if I’m letting go of something else. Maybe it’s just the loss of a convenient excuse to bring me back to Atlanta. Or maybe it’s the final acknowledgement that whenever I come back to Atlanta, it will always be as a visiting guest.

Hmm… I haven’t taken any cold remedies but I feel like what I’m writing is just a little too fuzzy headed for my tastes. So let me end with this:

I’ve let go and I’ve turned (it) over. Now let’s see what tomorrow brings!