With the exception of a three year stint where I lived on campus at the university I attended, I have lived in the same house my whole life. It’s the house I was brought home to fresh out of hospital as a newborn, the house I grew up in, and the house I have always known. While living there, I had bedrooms in three different rooms. I saw the change from wallpaper to incredibly bright paint (my parents were not fans of neutrals/beige/white) and a variety of pets including cats (always ginger), birds and fish. My whole life has been in that house and it’s very special to me.
When I got married in April and returned from my honeymoon, it was my first time properly moving out of home (I don’t really count uni because I came home every holiday/over summer). While very excited to have my own space with my new husband, I was really nervous. DG anticipated this and told me that if at any point I wanted to spend a night at home with my dad, that we was okay with it. Sweet guy this one. I haven’t felt the need to take him up on this offer for those wondering.
In one of the biggest surprises for me, I haven’t felt home sick. It helps that my Dad lives only 10 minutes away from our new home (this wasn’t deliberate, it was just where we were able to find a rental) and I still see him on a semi-regular basis. It has always been very important to me for a house to be a home. I love having photos up on the walls. In fact, I find it incredibly strange when I go to people’s homes and there are no photos. It feels too much like a display home to me.
As soon as we moved into our place, DG and I set about making our house a home. We furnished it with furniture and accessories which reflect us and our personal style. We’ve put little touches of us around the place. We did an IKEA run which we survived and we assembled flat-packs without fighting. We’re still waiting for our medal. We bought bookcases and a china cabinet that I’ve been wanting for years.
While we haven’t gotten around to hanging up our photos, there is enough of us for me to feel like this is home. It was a quicker transition than I ever expected to happen.
How old were you when you first moved out of home? Did you find the transition difficult or was it easy for you? How did you make your new place feel like home?
