My Picture of Home

Only one of you might know how much that photo at the top relaxes me. And that, AM, is because you lived with us in that house and I hope the memories there were as happy for you as they were for us.

That photo is taken out of the kitchen window, right over the sink, in the Anderson house. It is the first house C and I lived in together. He found it for rent one day while he was out surveying and it was almost perfect for us. It's an old white farm house and we lived on the ground floor only (no one upstairs) with two bedrooms and two full bathrooms and gorgeous wood floors. The windows were huge and our bedroom actually had windows that faced east, south, and west. The only detraction was that it, being so old and not fully renovated, was poorly insulated and heated by propane, which is a whole lot of money. Lots and tons. It was a wonderful spring/summer/fall house with a garden, porch, and green grass. We could let Bella out the back door and she could roam a little ways with no fence and no chain. Anyway, I would do dishes on Saturday mornings (still do because I love to watch the sun come through the window) and little bit of laundry and on this morning (the sun looks more like afternoon, actually) you can see what I saw. Vases belonging to AM and myself, jeans and blankets drying on the clothesline, part of the garden, and the old outhouse. We were happy in that house.

Do I think what we've experienced in this house detracts from it? Not really. I love this house too and fully believe that we're building our family in this house even if we aren't having children at the moment. I have to think that for every extra month that we have together without a baby or the hope of a child, we are building us into something incredibly strong, both for our sakes and our future offspring. I know that at least two of you who read this didn't get that time and I don't think you are any worse off - E, I admire the time that you and W spent together before you got married figuring things out, and AM, I am beyond impressed with the way you and R are continually building and strengthening your relationship.

A house doesn't make a home, but for us, houses have transformed into homes that are a permeable layer that contains the love, fighting, peace, and understanding. We open them to friends and family hoping that they feel our love and comfort as they pass through the door. Nothing more here - I was supposed to be writing a paper about A Doll's House and instead I posted about my homes, so I figure that I stayed on task. You know, more or less . . .