There’s just something about this place. There’s something about the big tree in the backyard that is filling our lawn with red and orange leaves. There is something about little boys in their slightly-too-large coats running over those leaves with toy lawnmowers. There is something about the sun streaming in through the big living room…
Writing Home
A Foolproof Method of Birth Control
To maintain the utmost discretion, the list below is a compilation of experiences that friends have shared with me, along with some of my own experiences. I have a very hard time remembering past moves. I vaguely remember pulling up to the front of residence in first year university to unload enough stuff to fill…
In His Arms
(Written a few days before we closed on the new house.) There was once a place that I thought was perfect. I’d lay there and know that nothing could touch me. Not stress. Not anger. Not sadness. Not pain. The world disappeared and I was free to just breathe. I remember that place so vividly,…
I Moved From Florida To Indiana And Never Looked Back
How cliché is it for someone to grow up in a place and then measure the entirety of their success by whether or not they got out of town? In particular, at least in movies, it seems this is a big thing in small towns. Well I did it. I said for the longest time…
A Sort of Goodbye, but Not Really
The plan had been to meet at the pool at four, let the kids swim, order pizza, and then Alice would take my two girls and one son home with her for a sleepover. The original goodbye play date had been to meet at Six Flags two days prior. But my kids weren’t ready to…
An Empty Fridge
I’m sentimental. That’s the nice way of saying it. You could also call me cluttered; a pack-rat; hoarder. I have a hard time throwing things away. Even when I know that I am not using something and probably won’t for a while, the what-ifs mute any voice of reason. But it is worth something. It would…
Sudden Eviction
The dreams started shortly after we moved into our house. I heard the doorbell chime and opened the door. He was dressed in a black suit, pressed and proper. He usually wore sunglasses like Will Smith in Men in Black. He was not unkind – just cold and matter-of-fact. “I’m sorry ma’am, there’s been a…
Location! Location! Location!
In my mind, the most important thing about the house you buy is where you buy it. So many things about houses – the size, the layout, and the other details – you can live with or they can be changed, but once you buy that house, you can’t move it. Unless you live in a mobile home I…
Longing to Live: Fitting life into small spaces
There are stories we tell each other with vivid recounting of memories, include a funny anecdote or a surprise punch line that makes you feel like you were there. Then there are stories that don’t need to be told but are captured in a moment in time. Just by looking at an old snapshot, reading…
5 Things I’ve learned as a homeowner
There’s nothing like the excitement of buying your first home and I couldn’t be happier for Laura and her family! In the two and a half years since my husband and I bought our first house, we’ve made mistakes and learned a few things along the way. Here are five things I hope to remember…
Moving on…
We built our first house when my oldest was five. We made mistakes…several. The entire experience from picking out cupboards and flooring to getting a mortgage was all new. We weren’t entirely sure what we were doing, it closed late, stress was high and in the end, we moved in feeling a great amount of…
