My Heart is at Home - this home...
Friends come in all shapes & sizes.They can turn up when you least expect it and, if you are lucky, when you need one.
I have a friend like that.We met 10 years ago & have been through a lot together.
In 2004 I was a practicing attorney, mother of two little girls & the owner of a beautiful house we just built.I was not in the market to move 3,000 miles away. I was contemplating which knobs to put on the cabinets in my new kitchen in NY, not if I wanted to live in LA.
But…we sold that house, I retired from my career & left my parents to start a new life in California.That was hard on me.It was one of those big married moments…I had to give it a try for the team.
We saw our home first during a weekend filled with houses. It appealed to me/us, but I was in no state to buy it then. Despite the crazed real estate market, the house was still available a month later when I had finally wrapped my head around actually moving.We moved in on New Year's Eve. ( who does that? ) Then it started raining. It rained 100+ inches that winter. Unheard of for LA. I swore we had accidentally moved to Seattle.I figured I would flip the house & be back in NY in 6 months. I would give California a try, but I no intention of really staying.
But then...As the rain pattered down & the girls napped the house started to 'talk 'to me."Look over here, did you see my vaulted ceiling with beams?"
"Notice my wide plank floors & stair rails?"" I was built in 1935. I am old, you like old."
"Yes, the kitchen should be red, the tree outside the window is a red Japanese maple".
"Of course, my yard can hold a pool!""Look outside and see what blooms in the winter."
As the 'conversation' went on and the rain kept coming down, the house kept nudging me along. I couldn't resist its charms.Ok, maybe I will tear out the kitchen, renovate the bathrooms, knock down a wall, remove a few doorways and put in a pool. Then we will see...We did all that and more. This house became my refuge from not only the rain. When my mind was occupied with how I could renovate it, I wasn't thinking about how I could get out of it. We became 'friends' the house and me. I started thinking less about leaving and more about making this house my home.
Then the rain stopped & there was a knock at the door. A little girl came to call. She wanted to play. My girls stood in awe. That didn't happen where we lived before.
I think the house smiled as we opened the door and as I opened my heart to a new life.Friends do come in all shapes & sizes. This friend of mine is tall and…well,...built like a brick house.
This post is part of a very special tour ~ The Hearts at Home Tour.
14 bloggers sharing why & how their hearts are at home. Please visit my partners on this tour. I know you will enjoy each post.
Wednesday 1/29
Thursday 1/30
Friday 1/31
Saturday 2/1