Today is my last day in the house that I grew up in. Maybe I didn’t live here my whole life, but this is where I did my growing up. I celebrated over ten birthday parties in that kitchen, learned my love for writing in that living room, and spent countless movie nights with friends on that couch. This house is much more than four walls to me. This house is my home.

This house is where my best memories were made, and where I was comforted during my biggest hardships. It is where I knew that I always had a place, and where I was always safe. If there was a way to thank my home for everything it’s been there for, I would, but I don’t think I can really do that. So instead, I’ll write to the next owners of this house, so that they can get to know and love this home like I have.

The dents under the breakfast bar? Those are from all the times I was swinging back and forth in the barstools while my mom cooked dinner, tapping the wall with my shoes each time I spun around. The scratch right near the top of the stairs? That’s from the first time I tried to walk down wood stairs in heels, and totally face planted. That weird blue tiling out by the pool? Yeah, my parents never really liked it, but it was the only part of the house that they didn’t change when we moved in, so if you want to keep it there too, that’d be great. Oh, and the front door slams pretty hard when you shut it, so be careful if you’re leaving before anyone else is awake. On the wall in the garage you’ll find markings my dad made a few times a year for the past decade or so to measure my sister and I growing; you can paint over those if you’d like to do the same with your family.

Each room in this house has it’s own stories, and when we move, I’ll miss being reminded of those stories when I walk from room to room. We put blood, sweat, and tears into making that house ours, and it’s strange to think that after today, the place I have called home for so long will belong to someone else. Another family will move in, and make their own memories. I can only hope that they find as much joy and comfort in those four walls that I did. And when their children are grown, and they are done living there, they’ll pack up, and another family will take their place.

My hope for this house is that it be a place where families can grow and love for years and years. My family left nothing in that house but love and gratitude So enjoy it, appreciate it while it’s yours, and don’t take any of it for granted. If the moments you share there are half as great as the ones we did, you’re in for the time of your life.