Sign Here.

May 1st 2008 was the day Dan and I moved into our house, which would soon retain the name “Windy Knob.” It was an incredible feeling; purchasing our first house together, going from our “first homes” and making this huge step (okay more like leap) in caliber of home and connecting with the nostalgia and history of a truly unique property. I distinctly remember our first night, eating pizza on a set of crummy old fold out chairs placed smack dab in front of the big picture window. We slurped down cheese and pepperoni while gazing out over Grand Traverse Bay as if we owned every gallon. Potential filled the air, and I was bursting at the seams with anticipation of what could come from our new “farm.”

And with that I’m announcing today, that May 1st 2013, will be our last day here at Windy Knob Farms. Even the move out date is poetic; five years to the day.

Remodels. Sheep. Chickens. Dogs. Books. Horses. Lambs. Cats. Family. Remodels. Magazines…

My head spins just thinking about all that has happen in this five year span. Oddly enough I feel like I was able to define and come to terms with myself and who I am, just to end up lost again in the end. And of course I ask myself, as my family has (as well as the buyers in fact) how could you leave such a place?

The irony is despite all the steps that had to take place along the way for this sale to occur, I’m not sure how to leave it, it just seems to have happened. I had to find a place for the sheep and lambs and to not have them separated from each other, find a home for all the hardworking chickens that laid eggs for us, a home other than an oven, a farm full of “stuff” (you’d be amazed how much stuff can accumulate when there is space to be had), come to agreements with realtors and of course perspective buyers: all of this had to have the planets align and God to nod his head, so it’s very calculated, but my heart feels like it just happened. Momentum started with an idea, and while I have no clue where it’s taking me, certainly, I’m going somewhere.

I will sob like a baby when I close that door for the last time. I know the same water I will drive by time and time again will never look the same as it did from the window seat I built, but we should embrace change. And I am grateful for the experience and everything I learned in this process, the skills I picked up along the way. And yes, the sale was a positive thing and our hard work paid off, but as they say, the memories will last forever.

I wanted to honor Windy Knob so to speak, and as a form of self-help therapy, I’m going to write about my top ten memories for the final 10 days in the house. And like any journey in life there have certainly been some serious ups and downs over the five year period; moments that were no fault of the farm, but moments attached with living here. It’s my goal to reflect on the positive, and to make a toast I suppose, to the farm and the great memories I leave here with. I will work to accompany each with a photograph, even amidst the boxes and newly released “fur-bunnies.”

If you are up for it, “sign here;” the closing has occurred, it’s time to celebrate.

Let the countdown begin. Here’s to the top ten of Windy Knob.

Marek