A Mostly Empty House

There were 2 hours spent today in a mostly empty house. All that remains for furniture is a single chair and a folding table, where the client sits to sort through the last of the photos. And there is no one rushing her to finish this chapter. But she still has the photos here, a final project.

We pondered over the changes coming in the next week or two, as we prepare to list her house. We marveled at the transformation of what was once a home for 39 year is now a mostly empty house. We talked about how the last 6 months have been different than any other time in her life.

It was only 2 hours. But she shook a little when she handed me the spare keys and she said she was feeling both happy and sad. So, instead of working today I sat on the step, she sat in the chair and I quietly listened to her remember things that made her laugh and things that made me cry just a little. A lifetime of memories lived here, sickness and health lived here, happiness and love lived here.

For 2 hours, no one was on the clock. There wasn't anywhere to be. While she sat on the last lonely chair, and I sat on the step, we unpacked some of the memories that this home carried. We talked about one of the most loving marriages two people could have. We talked about grief and loss. We talked about dreams that came and went. Families that grew and changed. Hope for the future. The challenges of change. We talked about how we are at the mercy of our health no matter our age.

We were sorting and organizing memories, making peace with change and sharing confidence in a new chapter. Not one that was better or worse than the last, just different. And I'm not sure which one of us that was meant for, but we both needed those 2 hours in a mostly empty house.