Along time ago when we searched for for a house we had no idea how important that clump of mortar and brick would become. When we first purchased our house, that's all it was just a house filled with the hope that it would become for us our home.
When we moved in Katie was 4 and it was just her Father and I and a baby due within days and the sex was unknown...soon she had a sister, Amy and after adjusting, hanging pictures, eating dinners the house slowly started to become our home. It was amazing all I asked of this mortar and brick, it delivered. It protected us from the elements, it contained all the hopes and promises we had for our future and the future of the kids. It never seemed quite noisy enough and so along came Billy and finally Jonathan. The house finally seemed noisy enough.
It watched as the kids grew and we did as well, the house changed on the interior to accommodate all of our needs. The paint changed often and if the walls could talk the stories would be amazing. As the kids grew older, and I was the adult in charge, the house groaned under the pressure of repairs that were needed, and yet it was patient. I never thought of this as the home I would remember. I guess I always thought of that when it came to the house I grew up in. I remember once telling the kids that I was gonna sell this house and was completely amazed when they looked shock and told me "this is our home". I never thought of it that way. I guess I never looked at it from their perspective. That was a mistake.
The house has welcomed many people into it's stretched walls. Friends with no place to go as they worked out problems with their parents. Kids just in general that had no place to go. It gave them a warm place to stay as they pulled their lives together. It housed many pets who were in the same boat, some inherited some purchased..but always loved.
I have filled holes, painted walls and changed furniture so many times, you can actually hear the house groan when I think about a new color scheme.
Well the house has changed again this year. I have compacted my things and moved some to Mom's house where I live now. Amy moved out to an apartment in Elmhurst and is on her way to new adventures. Katie, Blake and Brooke and a new baby on way, have moved into that same house.
Again that mortar and brick will protect them from the elements, listen to their laughter and bring them comfort when they walk in the door and hang up the keys. I hope for them for however long they stay there that they will come to appreciate that a home may start out as mortar and brick, but it is your life story that makes it come to life with purpose and it will always provide for you a safe haven.
That pile of mortar and brick has done all that I have asked of it. It has been patient with a bunch of people who many times did not know what they were doing. It has listened to our dreams and has been a silent participant to them all. It has seen graduations, birthdays, weddings, funerals and grand children. When we are all there it groans but I believe it is pleasure and not stress. It always was a home just waiting for a family to fill it with memories.
Thank you that mortar and brick......that we call home.
I
2 comments:
I remember when you were little telling Dad how you would take care of him and Mom when you were older and would live with them. I always pictured you doing that, just never really thought it would happen...Glad your home is there for all and Glad Mom's is there for all also...Thanks for all you do for her, it helps me sleep better knowing she's in good hands!
That's a really thoughtful piece, makes my blog look like fluff(it is fluff, so is my mind at this point). Has Katie found out, girl or boy?
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