What Makes a House a Home

Chatters,

Summer 2007: Many Cains Move Many Places. Indiana, Suffolk St, Fairport, Buffalo (First Apartment), Virginia. And even for those lucky few that didn't move I'm sure you'll be able to relate to the following:

We're down to the last "dregs" of unpacking the dreaded "knick knack" boxes. That's what I labeled them as I was packing. Some of the boxes I packed March 2006 when we first decided to move and kept them in a spare room at Carl's parents house. Some I packed away in December in an effort to "depersonalize" the house. And still others were packed at the urging of a home stager this past June.

Yet here they sat, waiting patiently as we unpacked the "necessary" items. Today I could no longer ignore the small cardboard boxes that clamored for some attention. I have to admit I have been tempted several times just to stash them in the attic or just whisk them off to Goodwill. But Grace was napping and I had some time so I got out the scissors and started ripping tape.

As I poured through the boxes it was like unwrapping old friends or revisiting a life I had almost forgotten. In the book boxes I found Austin, Tolkien, James and the Giant Peach, My "Little House on the Prairie" collection and others that have been faithful companions for years. Another box revealed tea cups from Grandma Kopshina, a tea set from Japan (a gift from an exchange student who stayed with us in CA.), a little handmade wooden church I purchased from an elderly couple on our way home from the Maple Tree Inn, family pictures, a tiny jar of green sand and fluorescent colored shells from Myrtle Beech given to me by Scooby when she was a kid and a painted Jar I bought in Mexico, a small, smooth stone with a beach scene hand painted by Carl. It was my gift for our first Christmas.

I found a sun catcher mom had given me. It says, "Our home is just a little house but God knows where we live." We've had it in every place we've lived. It's hanging on the door in the kitchen that leads to the back porch. The wind chime Nat and Lauren gave us when we moved into Blue Spruce is now hanging on a beautiful oak tree in the front yard. I found my hand mixer, and 9x13 glass pan, my cookbooks and other kitchen helpers that have mixed, baked and served family and friends for over 12 years (some longer like the old, gray wooden spoon from Mom and Dad's.)

As I looked at these items I realized how long it had been since we've lived in "our home". In an effort to "sell" our house we had to take all the "home" out if it. All these things are pieces of family that now fill our home with memories.

It's good to be home.