courage

talked to my mom tonight. she was in a hotel room in denver. waiting for my dad to get out of his business meeting.

my dad travels out to denver frequently. they have a big office out there. he's the boss-man so he has to go out there. but this time my mom went.

they are house-hunting. after years of fighting it, my mom has finally agreed to go. so my parents are moving. to denver. all the way across the u.s. i can hardly believe it.

as i talked to her tonight and was thinking about it later, i realized something. another "realization of emotion" similar to my "happiness" epiphany today . . .

i am proud of my parents.

"strange," i thought. "isn't it supposed to be the parents being proud of their kids?"

but i am indeed proud of my parents.

for thirteen years they have lived in the same house. they have lived next to the same neighbors (on both sides, i might add) for 13 years. they have seen their three kids thru middle school, high school and college in that house. they have gone from a full house to an empty nest there. they have re-modeled every room in the house at least once. my dad has driven 1-95 up and back to d.c. every day. they have watched our town change from lots of green fields to lots of strip malls and restaurants and wal-marts. they have developed close friendships over the years.

they are established. and now they are leaving.

and i am proud of my parents because they are courageous. it takes courage to look at a house that you have spent years making into your home and give it away to someone else. it takes courage to take on the daunting task of packing up, throwing out or giving away what the nooks and crannies of a house have accumulated over 13 years. it takes courage to leave everything that you know, everyone you know (even your three kids) and move across the country. it takes courage to step out of the comfortable and known into newness that can be intimidating and lonely.

i admire this courage in them. probably because i want so much for me to be that way too. to be courageous.

i am both proud of my parents and so excited for them. i found myself smiling as my mom (who is NOT a city person) told me how she's spent her day running around downtown denver, learning how to use the public transit system, offering up a bagel and jelly to a homeless woman who was nursing a cup of coffee in the diner where she had breakfast, looking at homes that are only 5 mins away from where my dad will work so he will no longer have a 1-3 hour commute each way every day, wishing that i were there with her because "sarah, you would fit so well here."

my parents are moving to denver. exciting.