At Home

I’ve been walking on air since Friday. Friday, our baby’s first birthday. We sang to him, which he loved and tried to make him eat cake, which he swatted onto the floor. It was not the Pinterest inspired party of my dreams, and I tried valiantly to let those expectations fall to the floor. Too much excitement in one evening makes for a very fussy 1 year old boy. His aunt and very favorite uncle were there, as were both sets of grandparents. 

On Saturday morning the excitement of moving to our house began. I’ve written before about my intense dislike for our apartment. I’m a bit disappointed in myself that I was never able to let that go in the months that we lived there. It was just too cramped, characterless, had too many bugs, not nearly enough light. I always felt like I should have been able to push past it, but that apartment was a damp rag on the home fires in my heart, so to speak. 

Walking into our house with the new carpet, carrying our belongings in, was a breath of fresh air. Light streams into our rooms and the eating area is like eating in a tree house. The nights before we got there I shrunk the rooms in my mind and I worried about fitting our furniture. I should not have worried. Everything fits more than comfortably. My kitchen has become a haven again. The large cabinets house our dishes and bowls, the baby’s plates and cups, my grandmother’s Pyrex collection. We have a junk drawer and an empty cupboard. An entire empty cupboard! The house overflows with the feeling of home, security, comfort, happiness, more than enough. 

One of the best parts is the flow- all the living space is on one floor. The basement is currently storage and entry to the garage. This means that Caleb has the ability to do laps around the kitchen, study, living room and back again. He is free to toddle from the living room into his bedroom (maybe 8 feet away), grab a book and toddle back out again. I never imagined I would like a ranch-style home, but his desire to constantly climb stairs when they’re available to him was a pain in the townhome style apartment. 

The house needs a little love. We have a punch list, like any other homeowners. But there’s nothing we have to do immediately. We can just enjoy living and take a little bit at a time. Finally, we're at home.