A while back I posted part of my story. You can read part one
here. This is a continuation...
The other day, as we were painting a room, getting things ready to go and listening to our iPod, I had a taste of nostalgia hit me and my eyes teared up.
The House That Built Me by Miranda Lambert came up on shuffle. The house that built me is actually another part of the story...maybe part three...maybe part 27. Who knows. I got teary-eyed thinking about this house. The house that built
Us.
When you really stop to think about it, all a house is is a big pile of bricks, concrete, wood, sheetrock and glass neatly organized into several boxes meant for living. It's funny how such ordinary and singularly boring things can collectively be so significant.
Our house is the first house we bought together. We only looked at a few, and they were all great, but this one was the winner. Even though we've only been here about two and half years, we have created so many memories here.
I remember sitting at the closing table being so mad at the former owners who had lied and said flood insurance was not required on the house, only to find out that it was...adding several hundred dollars a year to our expenses. Just a few weeks later, our city had major downpours, and the creek overflowed, flooding much of our neighborhood. We were able to laugh at the idiots driving past the "road closed" signs into the flooded water, instead of stressing over not having flood insurance. The previous owner even stopped by to make sure we were okay - he must have felt guilty.
It wasn't long before we learned what a water dog we really have. We always knew Bridgette loved water - she used to lay down in her water dish on a daily basis, and has been known to steal a bubble bath. We never knew that she would be the one enjoying the pool the most. Bridge quickly took to the pool, first sitting on the stairs to cool down, then taking laps, and then eventually learning how to ride on a floatie. Her favorite thing to do is to ride with me on the floatie all day long. She's gotten to the point that she thinks she's the lifeguard. Whenever Sam and Mike go under water, she swims to where they are and circles above them until they come up. She hasn't quite mastered diving and bringing them back to the surface yet...
Just a few months later, on the Fourth of July, we had a big party, and Harry set up his giant fireworks display. We sat along the edges of the pool, and watched the fireworks set off over the backyard. Of course, we spent the whole next day cleaning the shrapnel out of the pool, but it was so worth it.
We took our first family pictures at the park just down the street. Some of my favorite pictures ever.
I will never forget the image of Harry the day he bought his first riding lawn mower. I was driving home, and pulling up into the driveway when I saw Harry whipping around the corner of the house, going full speed on the mower. I swear he was practically on two wheels. He had the biggest grin on his face. It was like a kid on Christmas morning.
There was the Christmas of 2009: we spent all Thanksgiving night at the store picking out our first big Christmas tree, new ornaments, decorations, and lights. I got so excited about decorating our tree for our "holiday house" that I came running down the wooden stairs in my socks and slipped and bounced my way down all of them on my butt. I had a wonderful purple bruise for days. We had the best Christmas ever that year. The kids were here for two weeks. We rode their new four-wheelers, and played games. We lit fireworks and toasted with sparkling apple cider for the new year. We heated up the pool, and watched Christmas movies on the projector while we swam.
We've had the best parties here. The evening after our wedding, we invited our guest back to the house and partied all night long. Harry hooked up his DJ equipment in the back yard and his friend DJ'd while everyone hung out and went swimming. All our family and friends from childhood and beyond where here. It was the perfect start to our marriage and our family.
We've had more pool parties than I can count...something we will probably never have the luxury of in another house. Inevitably, a cannonball contest will commence, and inevitably, my dad somehow always wins.
Last fall, our ancient washing machine finally crapped out, so we bought new front loaders. Harry and I literally sat in front of them and watched our towels spin around in the soapy water, in awe of the new appliances.
This past summer, we discovered the new trails along Cypress Creek. We rode our bikes through the forest to the Y, and walked around the lake.
How about just a couple of weeks ago: our house got struck by lightning. White light seemed to engulf the house, raining down from the clouds, and the power flicked out. The house shook, and the pipes in the attic banged and rattled. Just a few minutes later, we heard sirens and saw flashing lights as our street flooded with 5 or 6 firetrucks. As it turns out, two of our neighbors' homes were struck at the same time. Luckily, every one was safe - and we only lost one shingle off our roof.
This is not the first place we lived together, but it is the first place we chose together. It is where we lived when we celebrated our marriage and the beginning of our family. If these walls could talk they could share with you the stories that have built us into the couple and the family that we are today. I know there are other houses to be made into homes, but
this is the house that built us.
