A house is just a house, but it’s the memories that make it a home. October 31st is our home’s 9th birthday. Our move-in day.  We had our house built back in 2013/2014 and were involved in every detail of it’s design, but it was still just a house until time and memories made it a home.

I’ve been thinking this week about all the memories made here in the last 9 years.

I felt a little unsure when we left our last home to downsize and build. Barry and I made a lot of memories there. We lived on five acres with a BIG outbuilding. (We named it Delores…but that’s another story) Instead of the typical things you might use an outbuilding for, like tractors and old cars and tools, we used ours for people gathering. We built it originally with the inspired mantra of, “If you build it, they will come,” referring at that time to our son’s high school friends. It was big enough to kick a soccer ball on the main floor and it had an upstairs party room that we painted ORANGE and BLUE…the school colors. We hoped that creating a place where his friends could gather would keep them close…and we wanted them close. Little did we know when we built it, how many others would come.

The outbuilding became the perfect location for our life celebrations. High school youth parties, weddings and receptions for nieces, (on both sides of our family) Eagle Scout Court of Honor for our son, graduation parties and more. My niece Deanna had her 40th birthday party there complete with Karaoke and a margarita fountain. We celebrated Barry’s Mom and Dad’s 50th wedding anniversary and had a big shindig for our 50th birthday’s. The final and most significant celebration was our son’s wedding. Bennett and Crystal exchanged vows in our backyard and then moved to the beautifully decorated outbuilding for the reception. We knew their wedding would be our last hurrah before putting our house up for sale.

With all the big celebrations that happened at our old address, thousands of little ones made it a home as well. Holiday gatherings with family, dinner parties with friends, first day of school pictures on the front porch, skateboard half pipes in the driveway, sick days, staying up late to do homework, getting to know our daughter-in-law to be (even though we didn’t know it at the time), homecoming photos, college acceptance letters and weekend visits once we became empty nesters.

We also shed tears there, experienced deep grief, had job stress and buried pets. All the things that take a house and turn it into a home.

When we put it up for sale shortly after our son’s wedding, I wondered if we were doing the right thing. Where were we going to have our celebrations? Could our new house ever feel like a home if Bennett didn’t live in it? Would we have time to create enough memories to turn this new/downsized house, into a home?

Nine years later, I’m happy to say, this dwelling is definitely a home. Losing acreage and an outbuilding didn’t stop us from inviting people to gather here. Family reunions, Sister Day, memorial dinners, Oktoberfest, Christmas parties and more, have created beautiful memories in this home. Our niece asked if she could get married here and the answer was yes! We emptied everything out of the living room and created a gorgeous chapel like setting. The wedding was in September, the night of the Harvest Moon. The clouds parted just in time for everyone attending the wedding to step out front and toast the newlyweds under the full moon. That’s a memory I won’t forget. My nephew came up after the wedding and asked, “Is this the first wedding you’ve had at this house.” When I answered, yes, he said, “Cool, this house has a soul now.” I’m not sure if there’s a moment a house becomes a home, but that might have been it.

Since that beautiful day filled with love, this home has experienced the grief of Barry and I losing his dad and my mom. We lived through a pandemic and quarantined here. (That’s a way to get to know your home) I ended my 40-year career filming videos in the basement instead of engaging with my clients one on one. That was hard. But it’s not just the good things that make a house a home…it’s the hard things too.

I went through my year of redemption at this house. Journaled hundreds of pages of healing words, cried buckets of tears, and wrote thousands of words to finally publish my book. When I read my book, I not only see myself processing the pain the book talks about, I remember the hours I sat to write about my healing as well. This home helped me write my first book! If that doesn’t make a house a home, nothing else will!

Well, I guess one more thing will…becoming a grandparent and having that new, precious, little life come to visit! I share daycare duties with my grandson’s other grandmother. We get to have our grandson, Ferris, over a few times a week. I remember the first time he stood at the glass patio door and put his sweet little fingers on the glass. I sent a picture to Barry at work and said, “I’ve been waiting my whole life for this.” Grandchildren’s fingerprints make a house a home for sure. I’m so grateful.

Nine years went by in a blink in some ways, and in other ways seem to drag on slowly. Those days of grief and sorrow were long, the grandson visits are a blink. Isn’t that how life is?

This week, I’m celebrating the nine years we’ve lived here. I’m grateful for the roof over our heads, the water that comes out of faucets, the view that we look at daily, and for all the memories, good and bad, that have made this house a home.  Happy 9th birthday “Little River Lodge.” Let’s keep making memories.

Living grateful,

Letha