The Power of Moving: Why It’s Okay to Feel Everything When We Close One Chapter

Well… It is official… we’re moving!

After nine years in our first home… the one where our babies took their first steps, where we hosted countless dinners, laughed until our stomachs hurt, cried and even rebuilt after the house fire, it’s time to pack up the walls that held our lives and move forward.

And... it’s a lot.

Part of me is ready. Excited for what’s next. Ready for more space, new views, and new memories. And another part of me, the part that watched the sunlight move across these same walls every morning, is grieving. Grieving this chapter that shaped me, that tested me, that grew our family in every way possible.

And that’s the paradox of moving: it’s both this act of progress and this process of letting go.

The Leadership Lesson in Leaving

Moving isn’t simply about changing houses, it’s often times about changing identities.

As leaders, we often talk about growth, transformation, and evolution. But what we sometimes forget is that growth almost always requires a goodbye. Whether we are leaving our home, the job, a role, or this version of ourselves we love, leadership is about knowing when to move, and having the courage to do it even when your heart aches.

Good leaders don’t always stay comfortable.
The great leader knows when to close the door, even when the room was once everything they asked for.

That’s what moving is: the choice to honor what was, while trusting what’s next.

It’s Okay to Feel Everything

I’ve realized that feeling “a lot” is not a weakness, it’s this amazing reflection of having lived fully.

Feeling sadness doesn’t mean I don’t want to go.
Feeling excitement doesn’t mean I’m forgetting where I came from.

It means I’m human!

And that’s what leadership needs more of… humans who feel deeply, love fiercely, and aren’t afraid to admit that transition can be both beautiful and brutal at the same time.

The walls of this house have heard our laughter, our silence, and our arguments. They’ve seen the best and worst of us. And now, as we pack the boxes and sweep the floors one last time, I’m reminded that every leader must do this too, pause to look around and honor the space that made them who they are.

Moving as a Metaphor for Leadership

In leadership, we often have to move before we’re ready.
We have to make space for the new before we know exactly what it will look like.

But here’s the truth: moving isn’t about what we take with us; it’s about what we carry forward.

From this house, I’m carrying gratitude.

Gratitude for the nights we sat by the fire after the fire.

Gratitude for the early mornings of sunrises, nature noises and games I played out back with my kiddos. 

Gratitude for our neighbors and that feeling I got after a long trip on the road and pulling up to that feeling of home knowing I was going to sleep in my own bed that night and thankful it kept my family safe while I was on the road! 

For the milestones, the laughter, the love that built these walls from the inside out… THANK YOU! 

I’m carrying the understanding that leadership (and life) is not about holding on. It’s about honoring what was, learning from it, and then stepping into what’s next with open hands. I am very excited for this next chapter with my family! 

The Power of Moving Forward

Moving reminds us that every chapter has an ending and that endings don’t mean something’s over. They mean something new has begun.

And maybe that’s the secret to leadership:
Not pretending we’re fine when change comes.
But embracing it, feeling it, and trusting that where we’re going will require everything we’ve learned from where we’ve been.

So as I close the door to this home for the last time, I’ll whisper “thank you” to every corner that held us and then I’ll turn the key and step forward to this next chapter. 

Because the power of moving isn’t in what you leave behind.
It’s in who we become when we choose to move on.