This is probably the hardest part of moving and we need to talk about it. Leaving a place you have lived in for many years, maybe even decades, creates a loss. A loss that we don’t often acknowledge the way we should. You may be leaving a home where you raised your children or lost your spouse. A home where you felt safe and it was your sanctuary. You knew your neighbors and your friends knew where to find you. You aren’t just leaving a house, you’re leaving a life behind. Yes, some of those friends and family will follow to your new home, but it will be different and some of those people may not follow along for different reasons.

You are starting anew. Making new friends and finding new places to eat, shop and wander. You may miss some of the old places and faces. This is a transition, but also a loss. A grieving that often goes unnoticed by others.

Before you move, take pictures. Take pictures of your house, your yard your garden and your favorite things and places in your house. Take pictures of your neighbors, your mailman, your friends as they visit one last time. You can take those pictures with you and the feelings they invoke. If you are having a tough day at your new home, take out those pictures and bathe yourself in those positive feelings. Know that you are still loved and those people are still out there carrying on with life and you can too.

I am writing this just to acknowledge that change is hard and that you will have mixed feelings about it, but it will be Ok

and this can be an opportunity to find out more about yourself in your new home. Write a new chapter and be gentle with yourself.