Moving to Narnia – Modern Mrs Darcy

Do you remember that scene in You’ve Got Mail when Kathleen Kelly locks up The Shop Around the Corner for the last time, and she catches her breath when she turns back and sees her mom “twirling” her six-year-old self by the cash register?

I’ve been feeling like that this week as I walk through my old house, the one we’ve been in for almost fourteen years. I catch my breath as I see myself pacing the living room floor with a restless baby Jack, and two-year-old Sarah doing the hokey-pokey by the fireplace. I see tiny Lucy (now six) snoozing in the moses basket on the dining room floor, and Silas tearing down the hall naked, again.

It’s been a happy house. I’m surprised how much I miss it, and we’re not even gone yet.

But we will be soon. It’s Moving Day, and we’re headed to Narnia.

You don’t get to our new house through the wardrobe of a charming, ancient house in the British countryside. Nope, from our old place, you take a left, and a right, and another quick right, and you pull up to a mid-century brick with a driveway and a dishwasher. (Mr. Beaver wouldn’t know what to think!)

But when we were house hunting, the garden light post reminded me of Lewis’s fantasy world. If the home you’re checking out reminds you of Narnia, you go with it.

Lewis isn’t here to complain. But even if he was, he was prone to flights of fancy, too. I think he might indulge mine.

We’ll be settling in to the new house this weekend (and for months to come, if your moving stories are any indication).

Your encouraging words (and your great tips!) have been much, much appreciated. Thanks so much for those.

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Housekeeping notes: twitterature will be on the 14th this month, because the summer reading guide is coming on the 15th! Newsletter subscribers will get the first look. If you’re not yet a subscriber, sign up here.