Saturday, July 23, 2011

If These Walls Could Talk


They would certainly have great insight into the last four years surrounding our lives.

As we pack up our things and prepare to leave, I feel like this is an appropriate time to reflect on what we have been through at this house…

-       Uncertainty – So much of our time in Greenfield has been cloaked in uncertainty. When we first arrived in September 2007, we had just recently purchased the Epcon Franchise and had settled in on a construction site (which is NOT where we are currently building) and were just beginning to realize that the housing bubble had officially burst. Fortunately, our passion for building and our stick-to-it-tive-ness won out in the end and we continued down the path of Timber Run. It has been an incredibly long journey fought with fears, tears, uncertainty and a much doubt, but we are finally at a stage that we are comfortable with where we stand. Truly, I don’t think it has been until the last 6-12 months that we have felt at home here in Greenfield.
-       New Friends – Oh this is probably the best part! While we haven’t had the parties we used to have with our friends in Ohio, we have made some great friends. I think the lack of “parties” is so much of that is due to our having kids now. Jana, Tom and the kids have made some great memories in this house. Here are some pics of my favorite night in the backyard with Jana, Tom and the kids…





Then, there are the other friends we have made through Rotary, preschool and just being around town. I feel very lucky to have been welcomed to town.
-       Old Friends – We’ve had some great times with friends from our pre-Greenfield days coming to visit. My favorite visits are Eric and Sarah Baker. The first time they came to town was when Sarah was pregnant with Oliver. We call that weekend “flea-it-nam.” Trigger ended up with fleas and then Martini (their dog) ended up with them too. Of course, I had to work that day, so Sarah ended up doing laundry and Eric and Tom flea bombed the house and bathed the dogs. I can’t remember if that was the same trip that we decided to go the farmer’s market and drove in to find two vendors set up. Either way, not a super fun visit. We did manage to make it to Tuttle's though. 
The next time they came to visit was a little better except that Tom decided that was the weekend he was going to put in the firepit – with Eric’s help. I remember thinking “Welcome to our house…here’s a shovel…now get to work…” By now, Oliver was born, so the kids had fun with him.
On their third visit, Sarah was again pregnant, and so was I. We decided to make a trip to Conner Prairie (why not? We were 8 months pregnant and it was 95 degrees outside…) The kids had a blast and we did get some good pics…





The last time they were out to visit was probably the best visit. All five kids were here and out of the womb. The bigger kids played nicely and the adults were able to chat.
-       Politics – Tom will talk politics all.the.time. And, we are pretty staunch conservatives. However, I will say that during our time in this house, a truly historic thing happened with Barack Obama’s election to the highest post in the land. I went to a sales conference the day after he was elected and someone asked the trainer what he thought about the election (he was a known Republican) and he said something truly enlightening. He said, “Even though I may not agree with his politics, one thing is certain, a truly remarkable thing has just occurred in this country – a black man has been elected as President. No longer can any person say ‘I can’t because…’ Or ‘Things aren’t fair because…’ A black man was just elected as president.” We witnessed history. Plus, I can remember when Sarah Palin was running as Vice President too. While I didn’t necessarily agree that she was the right choice, she was a major motivating factor in how I decided to run and train for my first half-marathon. I decided that if she could do it with her five kids, running a vice-presidential campaign and parenting a special needs child, I could probably make it work.
-       Birthdays - Every one of the kids have celebrated all their birthdays here with the exception of Josie’s first.  While the big celebration may have been at school, in Ohio or elsewhere, they usually woke up here in this house on their big day.
-       Firsts – songs, words, smiles, steps, day of school – Josie was 18 months old when we moved here and Tessa was two months old. Josie sang her first song in our kitchen and Tessa and Jack both took their first steps here. I can remember first day of school photos for Josie at Bradley and tucking them into bed the first time out of cribs too. It’s amazing that four years later, we still have the same bedtime routine as four years prior, right down to the rainbow song that Tom made up one night.
-       Births – Who could forget that Jack spent his first night home in this house? I remember the day before he was born like it was yesterday. Mom was here and we were working on cleaning the back porch and getting ready for the 4th of July celebration we decided to have here instead of at the lake. I remember pulling into the driveway and seeing dad’s car and then having an extremely strong contraction and realizing I would probably have Jack very soon. Then, I can remember bringing Jack home to a back porch full of family. And, all the work that they had done – painting, cleaning, landscaping – and how full of emotion I was that I couldn’t even speak. Then, of course, just the memories of newborn Jack on the couch with me and in the little bouncer are enough to bring this mom to tears.
-       Celebrations – Aside from our birthdays and births, we have had so many things to celebrate here. Tom and I stood in this kitchen when we heard that Katie and Jason were expecting Clark and then again when they found out about the twins. The kitchen was also the gathering place after our Preview Party for Timber Run at which we took in reservations for our first homes. We’ve toasted every contract and every closing in this home too. We were also fortunate enough to host Christmas this year with all the fixings.
-       Business Plans – Oh boy. This is where I could go on and on, but I won't for fear someone may steal our ideas. :) Tom and I have probably solved the world’s problems 100 times over in this house. He especially, has enough good ideas to get a think-tank working overtime. For now, we’ve settled on kicking tail on Timber Run and working on a few things that are in the wings and may be discussed on a future blog post.  J

In the end, a house is simply four walls to protect you from the heat, cold, rain and snow, but really it is so much more than that. It is a place to capture memories with family and friends. Our house at 1122 E 500 N has been that memory catcher and virtually the foundation for starting our family and will not be forgotten. As much as I’m looking forward to building a new home and moving on to the next chapter in our life, I reflect with fondness on our days in this home and hope I can continue to cherish the memories built here.

2 comments:

  1. I have to admit, this post made me cry. What a neat glimpse into everything that is important to you and your family. Love you! I hope the new house holds even more joy!

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  2. Thanks Katie! (And, I know this response is well overdue.) One of these days I'll actually send out our address... :)

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