One door closes and another opens

I hope you will not mind this personal post. Our lives have been consumed for the last three months with selling our home, the place we have spent the last 20 years.We bought this home in 1994. Built in 1931, its structure reminded both of us of our childhood; in fact I often referred to the architecture as "Leave It To Beaver" or Father Knows Best". I realize that puts me in a certain age group :-).Last spring, after shoveling what had to be a ton of snow, we decided to put our house on the market. It's always enlightening to find out what matters to buyers. At times our house was described as well maintained, small, not worth the ask, old (no kidding!). One looker complained that we had more than one type of tile in the house. We learned to have a thick skin.However, a buyer willing to wait for a new septic system and appreciative of an older gem of a house, is about to sign on. I feel a responsibility to our old house. It needs someone to love it as we have. I think our new buyers will do that.Today is our last visit to the old place. In a few days we will no longer own property. Walking through an empty house and listening to the echoes of memories is bittersweet. There's been sadness and grief and indescribable joyousness within these walls.And while we turn the lock on our past 20 years, we remain hopeful that the next 20, the next adventures, will be as sweet.