Our home. A tribute.
Tomorrow, we move house. Goodbye one very large home. Hello one rather small one.
It’s the bit in between that’s hard. The massive physical, mental and emotional transition away from the very special place we’ve called home for the past 11 years.
Every inch of it feels like ours. Every nook and cranny, we know them. Every door, window, cable, pipe, button and switch, we chose them. And in our large garden, every tree, shrub and flower, every blade of our lovingly tended lawn, we planted and seeded them.
Of all the steps on the long, winding road of my life, those I’ve taken here have been the most fulfilling.
And all the while, the mountain we’ve opened our shutters to every morning looks on.
Simply. There.
This is a home that keeps on giving.
It holds the vision. You do the work. And, man, did we work! Relentlessly, to make it all work.
Lots of mistakes. Multiple do-overs. Much learning. So many gifts.
This is also a place that draws you in.
Of the hundreds of people who’ve passed through – friends, family, skiers, hikers, yogis, adventurers, leaders on retreat – many have come back. A wonderful Spanish family every August for three weeks. Skiers year after year. Hikers and mountain bikers looking for a comfortable bed.
And every year for the past four years, different groups of evolving leaders. Like them, our thinking has evolved. The conversation has changed. We’re entering a new phase of life.
All of the leadership growth work goes with us and continues in a different place. The rest we leave behind.
This afternoon the new owners came. We spent a few hours with them, passing on our knowledge.
Yesterday afternoon we dedicated to saying goodbye. Separately and together, my partner and I walked through the house and garden, pausing often in all the different spaces to pay personal tribute to the memories we’d formed.
Some sad memories. Many happy ones. All that really matters is how we hold them.
Speaking for myself, this place will forever be.
Simply. There.
