How To Say A Last Goodbye
To Your Childhood Home

There may come a time when we have to say a last goodbye to the childhood home.

When the home is sold up and the family must move on, the emotions of sad goodbyes are very poignant, as growing up there was a time of safety, protection and being carefree.

You would have a lot of wonderful childhood memories that are 'stored' there.

You may feel grief that life is changing and all you had relied on as being constant is no longer there - you may feel your foundation is gone or you may question aspects of your life.  This is all part of living, and part of learning to cope with change. 

Have a special goodbye party. Click here for ideas.

What you need to do is conduct a little farewell ceremony, thanking the house for your memories and shelter, to transform your connection to the house from the physical attachment into intangible memory and a part of your character.

For example, if there is a big tree outside, carve something lovely into it - that way if you ever come back, you can find it without going into the property occupied by someone else.  Hopefully the tree will still be there.

When you carve, say a few words of goodbye. You'll feel sad, but much better when you're done.

Otherwise, take a seed from the tree and grow it in your own yard, and you are taking a little piece of the old house with you.

Indulge yourself with an

 award-winning children's book

Another alternative is to have a ritual where you give your own blessing for the house.

The thanks and blessing you give the house is a form of release, so that you are not energetically holding onto the house and preventing it from being sold.  Ask any real-estate agent - they will tell you that houses don't sell if owners can't "let go".

Say to the universe your hopes that future children in the house will have as happy a childhood as you did. You can stand in the front yard holding hands with your parents while you say a few words. This is an indirect way of telling your parents that you love them, and that they did well by giving you the best childhood they could.

This is the next step in life, taking the energy of all that was happy and safe and protected into your heart to help you in your journey as an adult in the wide uncertain world.

In fact, consider that you might be transferring feelings of sadness that your parents getting older, onto the house...

So tell them how much you love them,
while you can.

Other ideas to say goodbye:

• Make a blessing/welcome tile or brick and add it to the house,
• Take a photo of the house, and/or a piece of brick or house item and put them in a keepsake box to bury in the next house's garden,
• Take a photo of the house and write a poem or story just for you
• Draw a creative map of the house, not to scale, with images of memories or significant objects, labelling the different parts of the house and what you did there.  If you are inclined, go larger and include the street the same way, or the neighbourhood,
  
• Write a blessing or signature on a wall and paint over it,
• Have a house-cooling sunset party with the neighbours,
• Hang a robust ornament in a tree, or knit a jumper for a branch, or paint a branch and sign it like a plaster cast
  
• Have a bonfire and burn some items as part of letting go,
  
• Mentally clean the house of all treasured memories and imagine all memories going into a file in your mind - you have taken the "soul" of the house back.  The new occupants can give the house a new soul.  Note that when doing "imaginary" cleansing or blessings, you may find that you don't need to do any of the physical activities on this page, as you feel satisfyingly detached.
• If you have pets buried in the garden, it may be hard to say goodbye "again".  Know that the pet's soul is not with the grave, and that the pet has "left behind" its body just as you will leave behind the house.  You can name a tree after your pet in the new garden which can be enormously comforting.
  

Some people like to keep keys to their old houses, but this is not really in the spirit of letting go as "access" is still implied, rather than a "leaving behind".  There could be confusion with needing to "belong" somewhere and the answer to that is to learn to feel comfortable with oneself, and learn to change and grow.

If this is something you struggle with, try to look at a closed door as "There is nothing more to gain or learn behind that door", and realise that there are always other doors to walk through.  By looking at the closed door and grieving that without moving on, can close yourself to the opportunities that try to invite you.

So express your feelings and your grief, then, find something to look forward to in the next place, even just to sit somewhere and watch people, or to have a coffee at every new cafe.  Embrace the adventure that comes with exploring someplace new. 

Enjoy the discovery!

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