the first time i ever heard that song by miranda lambert, i thought how true that is! the place where i grew up, filled with my fmaily and memories-that house that protected me from the weather, from intruders, from lonliness, from harm. hy house was so much more than a house-so much more than siding and stairs and cinderblocks-it was home. the word home means so much to me, even more these days than ever.
my parents are selling my home. it is the best decision they could ever make for themselves. that house is too big for the 2 of them. it is hard to take care of and becoming a burden to them both. they made the decision to sell and it seems like a week went by and it was gone. maybe that's because a week did go by and it was gone. it's a great house. no wonder someone wanted it so badly. i am so jealous of the new owner and i hope he fills that home with memories even HALF as great as my own.
there is so much about that house that makes it special.
the stairs.
those darn things might be the biggest reason for the big move. there are 37 of them. some of them cracked, most of them crooked and each one means more snow to shovel in the winter and more work when carrying the grocheries in from the car. they are becoming an issue for dad's heart and it is time to make life easier on him.
all i can think about when i see those stairs are the thousands of races up them with erin and my dad. "last one up is a..." every single time we got home from anywhere. never thought i would miss something so silly. i guess i neevr really thought i would have to miss it. now that it's gone, i couldn't possibly miss it any more.
the woods.
maybe it's because i have spent so much of my childhood running in them, playing in them, hiking in them...maybe it's because nature is such an important part of my family-but those woods will be missed. even though he won't admit to it completely, my dad will miss them. he will miss that he can take a walk in gorgeous nature at a moment's notice. he will miss the deer and the birds that those woods bring to his back door. he will miss the sounds and smells and that gorgeous backdrop to look at while doing the dishes.
the basement.
that basement might be the ugliest in the history of basements. the floor is uneven and there are a million different rooms, each one scarier than the next. sure, basements are scary as a kid, but mine was the scariest! so many memories down there with my mom. she was basically our slave growing up. she always did all of our laundry and cooked meals every night. but that is where my metal car was, and true tom boy at heart, that was my favorite toy in the world. a metal push petal car, shaped like a station wagon (my favorite type of car to this day) and ready for adventure in that dark and scary basement. while mom was doing the never ending loads of laundry, i felt courageous ebough to be down there with her, driving that car into walls, into loads of laundry, into her...
my favorite time of day growing up-laundry time! funny how that time was something i looked forward to with such excitement, now it's a time i avoid like the plague!
the upstairs.
growing up, i always shared a room with erin. we shared until middle school, until my mom couldn't stand the fighting anymore. even though we constantly fought with each other as we got older, and moodier, i definitely learned a lot about myself in those years. i learned that i would rather be fighting with erin than alone in that room. i learned that even though she was beautiful and had everything i wanted in life, she didn't seem to notice. i learned that eventually, i would want to wear a pair of high heels and i better be nice to her if i ever wanted to learn how!
even when we seperated into seperate rooms, we were still upstairs together. just us two. we shared a lot growing up- a bathroom, talks, friends, chores, advice, and most of all- understanding. i don't think 2 sisters could be any more opposite than erin & i, but for some reason, we fit well together. sure-not everything is not always rainbows and butterflies when we are together, but there i snot a person on earth that can make me laugh like erin can. we have more inside jokes between the 2 of us than most people have with a lifetime of friends. we were always told in the middle of a fight how lucky we are to have each other. and no truer words were ever spoken.
then came emma grace.
emma was born into that house. she gave us laughter that we thought was lost forever. she took her first steps in that house and said her first words in that house. she sat in the back yard with her pappy in that hosue and fell asleep to nana reading to her in that house. emma made our house the strongest home on earth.
that home is where my heart is. i hope and pray that my parent's next home will be just as special. i don't know what the future holds, but i have faith that everything will work out for the best. and this new home will feel like home in no time.
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