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…
Daily Living
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,…
The End of Great Things = One Celebratory Giveaway
We live eleven minutes from the beach. For the past four years we have lived 21 minutes from the beach (that should tell you roughly how far we moved). In all that time, (plus the previous three years I’ve lived in this city,) I have only been to the beach twice. Once last year, and…
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…
My Next BIG Thing
Hi, my name is Laura O’Rourke and I am addicted to running. Or maybe I’m addicted to not running. Yeah. That has to be it. It has been 47 days since I last ran. The very last time I ran. I had a great excuse. We were moving. The apartment needed to be packed up….
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…
