What Makes a House a Home?

Cameron,
Sorry for seemingly disappearing. We spent every night of the past week cleaning some part of the house, painting baseboards, organizing a closet or two. We met with two different realtors on Saturday since your daddy is determined to get the best deal and work with someone who can get the job done quickly. I will briefly mention the horrible stomach bug that I came down with on Friday that made most of the weekend miserable, but thankfully it has passed.

The good news is that both of the realtors said that our house was clean, charming, and uncluttered. Both seemed to think that we would benefit from the other houses in our neighborhood being priced about $50,000 higher, so we hope to sell quickly. We still have two big things to get done before we list - redoing the landscaping out front and closing off the horse stall so we can keep Joe Dog contained every day in case someone wants to see the house. He will be filthy from playing in the dirt all the time, but at least he won't scare off the realtors.

It is a bit overwhelming to think of having to keep our house perfectly clean and "show-ready" every day. There is no way that I could leave work and come home to tidy up and put the dog away if we got a sudden call, so we have to make sure that it is presentable just in case. I must confess that I like having a clean house, but generally don't care if there are shoes laying on the floor or laundry piling up. I tend to just get to things when I get to them. Guess I am going to have to work on creating good habits and cleaning every night.

I think your daddy is going to have a rougher time with moving than I am. We were cleaning and putting things away when he noticed that I took down most of our family pictures. (In fairness, the realtors said that "depersonalizing" helps people feel like they are looking at THEIR new house instead of just snooping around YOUR house and that you really don't want all these strangers to see what you and your kids look like.) He said that it made him sad because he loves all our little family touches. And I think he feels like moving into the city makes him a big city guy officially. Both of us have always grown up in small towns and lived in a more country setting. I know he misses having his horse and doing chores outside. But to me, the most important thing is you. Being close to where you go to school, having friends nearby to play with, and having more time to spend with you that doesn't involve you being strapped into your carseat for an hour and a half every day.

I hope that we can find someplace closer in to San Antonio that we love just as much. Daddy said the other day that this was our first home, where we put in our blood (mostly just Daddy's), sweat and tears. Where we became a family. Where our extended family loves to come escape to. But I suppose the question is this - what makes a house a home? Is it the four walls and all the stuff inside? To me, our home is more about the feeling than the physical. I love our house because it is welcoming, warm, and comfortable. And I know that we can find that again in another home. (It may take a bit for Daddy to feel the same way...)

So we are going to try and hustle to get things finished up and on the ball. Cameron, do you think you could do Mommy and Daddy a huge favor? The back garden could really use some attention. Maybe I can find some tiny work gloves for you...