A Place To Call Home

A place to call home.

It’s nothing like what I imagined it would be. Once upon a time my dream house was all laid out on paper with professional designs and all the bells and whistles you could dream of. Appliance garages, his and hers walk-in closets with an accessory vault, wine cave, library balcony, butler pantry, blah, blah, blah.

 

 

What I missed in those plans was drawing in places for my kids to play hide and seek, a “great hall” that can hold all our family for Christmas morning right thru dinner, lots of space for the kids to ride bikes and play outside away from cars, kid proof walls that are the perfect backdrop for art of all kinds, a secluded location that gives a sense of peace from the moment you drive up the driveway, the mountains to calm all the noise of the outside world.

Just over a month ago, we moved…again. It’s our 3rd move in 3 years and by all accounts, we hope it’s our last for a very long time. It’s old and outdated by current design standards, it creeks in the wind and moans in the sun, it’s older than me (which, to my kids is reallllllly old) and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. We have more than enough space for our family of 6. There’s storage (what every woman really wants in a house) and 2 wood burning fireplaces, one of which is in the master bedroom (what every man really wants in a house). The art is up on the walls. Boxes that have been packed for over 3 years are empty. I finally have a proper desk to work at and although the house doesn’t have a pantry (say wha?) I’m getting used to the industrial look of metal racks in the kitchen!

I feel like we’re finally home.

This week the kids have been on spring break at home with me and today, they finally realized that they have endless adventure just outside the front door. With some chalk and their bikes they’ve created their very own city with streets and a police station and a school and the 4 of them are the total of it’s residents.

This.

This is what I’ve dreamed of.

We’re home.