When I considered moving back to my hometown, we had a real estate agent show us house after house in our price range. All were in good neighborhoods, but considered “fixer-uppers”. Then he showed us a red brick home in the heart of downtown and we were in love.
After moving there, my marriage came to an end and the house became solely mine.
It had been owned by one family since being built and was beautifully constructed. Now, it had gorgeous hardwood floors upstairs and fresh new carpet in the living areas of the main floor. The kitchen was large with a dry bar on one end and a sunny breakfast nook on the other. A built-in desk and roomy pantry rounded out the room.
After moving in, I decided to strip and refinish all the thick oak woodwork along the edge of the living room and the crown molding at the ceiling. Mom and Grandma Doris would come and supervise me as I stripped the old varnish off. I remember one night, a fire in the fireplace, snow falling out the large front windows, the Brandy Old Fashions were tasty. We laughed and talked while listening/singing to country music on my boom box. Bistro Walnut was the rich color I chose to redo the woodwork. It blended in with the previous color.
I felt secure and stable in that house. I loved that people would come, park in my driveway and walk to the movie theater. Michelle and her kids could ride their bikes to my house.
A drawback of the house was its location. My dog Eli would always come when I called. One day, she wandered across the street and when I called, she ran home…directly in the path of an oncoming car. It tapped her back leg as I screamed and the car screeched to a stop.
Another time, my dog Lexi, let herself out of the house and followed me around the block to the video store. She arrived shortly after I left. The manager called me to come and get my dog that was sitting outside the store. Fortunately, her collar had my name and home number.
When I met Craig, the house was too small for our combined stuff (a one-car garage and no workshop were problems). I sold the home after only owning it for 2 years. But I still drive by and say hi to it. I remember the walk-in attic, the master bedroom surrounded by windows, and the rolling, pull-out shelves in the kitchen.
It was mine, all mine.
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