Packing my life into boxes...

As I write this blog post I am sat in my living room, surrounded by boxes. This will be the eighth move I have made in seven years, which is crazy really! I moved around a lot during my university days.  But this move is different. Rob and I are finally buying somewhere of our own, somewhere which will be ours to keep, for ever and ever if we so wish. This move is much more permanent and scary.

The flat we have been in for the past 18 months has been the first place, since living at home with my parents, that has really felt like a home for me. In previous flat-shares with various friends and strangers there was always a subconscious awareness that the place wasn't really home... just a temporary residence. But our flat has felt like a real home to me, with all our belongings, and it's become a place I will treasure in my memories.

Moving in with Rob wasn't something I took lightly, in fact I was pretty petrified beforehand. What if things went wrong? What if I was a nightmare to live with? I dreaded the thought of making such a commitment only for things to shatter into pieces. But it would always feel like a risk, even if we left it another year, so why wait around? It was something we both needed to do, to test our relationship and grow as a couple. Looking back now it was the best decision we could possibly have made.

 

I don't think you fully know a person until you live under the same roof. I found this quote last week and I absolutely love its truth: 

"People are like cities: We all have alleys and gardens and secret rooftops and places where daisies sprout between the sidewalk cracks, but most of the time all we let each other see is is a postcard glimpse of a skyline or a polished square. Love lets you find those hidden places in another person, even the ones they didn't know were there, even the ones they wouldn't have thought to call beautiful themselves."

I am lucky enough to live with my boyfriend who also happens to be my bestest friend. We've definitely discovered cracks in each others pavements these past 18 months {there are probably more cracks in mine!!} but I wouldn't change these for the world. I've learnt the importance of compromise and being utterly selfless even when it feels like the hardest thing. I've also learnt to chill the fuck out! It's really not the end of the world if the dishwasher isn't emptied or if the bins aren't taken out. I am lucky enough to arrive home to an incredible guy who will make me cheesy baked beans on toast and run me a bath. Who needs anything else? I'm a very, very lucky girl.

The packing is making me emotional, I've never been a big fan of change and I'm struggling to come to terms with the fact that in less than a week this place will no longer be our home. But it's time for us to take another risk, another step in our journey.  We're moving to Rob's Mum's house for a short while, whilst our house purchase completes. I would happily plod along and stay where we are now for comfort's sake but I know that making this move is the right thing to do.

C.S Lewis once said "there are far better things ahead than any we leave behind"... I'm holding onto these words right now and praying that our new house is full of as much love, happiness and contentment as the home we're saying goodbye to!

Lydia xxx