Down Home Happy

Sitting at the fire ring, made of rocks from the hill , glass of wine in hand, music playing,  a pig , peacock, chickens running around , one goat sitting in the chair next to me and one at my side. I had this wonderful sense of peace and awe. A calm, old farmer rocking on the porch, end of a hard days work , satisfied calm. What a blessing this old house is to my soul. Michael literally hates every crooked wall and pine floor board. My son Dave gets frustrated," Mom seriously, just sell this place and buy something new ".  Michael and I have heated debates about tearing down the old barn . On one trip to Home Depot Michael showed me manufactured wood floors made to look old. He said "Wouldn't these be great at your house? 'Why? "I queried , "I already have the real thing. ""Yes", he agreed "but these are new" , to Michael, new is always better,  period. On the day I showed him the house his first comment was "well we will have to pull all this old plaster off the walls and put up drywall." I just laughed, how on earth have two people so different managed to stay happy together, for 20 years and counting?

Old houses hold a special place in some of our hearts.  There are those of us that see their weathered beauty, a beauty earned, hewn by hand.   I know a new barn , vinyl siding , plastic pipes would make my daily chores easier but I can't sacrifice the history of this old house and barn for convenience.  Her huge barn beams and weathered wood is something to behold. I love the square nails and large pieces of old iron fastening her together. She deserves respect an old matriarch still standing.  I love the sound of rain as it pings off the barns tin roof or the sun as it streams through the wavy glass windows. I see a tiny piece of yesterday,  a time before texts, terrorists and the NSA.  Children playing unfettered all day long, catching frogs and building forts.   I sometimes try to envision what life was like here a century ago. 

Were there fresh cookies, lemonade and checkers on the porch?  What was my little town like then? I know there was the Soldiers Orphan School around the corner . Maybe , it wasn't better , but it feels good to think about a simpler life as a chicken trots by.

Every week something else breaks , I still love the house. This is the house I dreamt of when I was a little girl ,moving from place to place. If I could show my 10 year old self this house and animals,  she would be ecstatic. It looks like a a place where chocolate chip cookies are always baking, Aunt Bee could show up with a pie at any moment.  It's not just wood, stone  and rock it's alive to me. A home, my home in every sense of the word. My grand children adore it here, all children love this place, nooks, crannies,tree swings, fairy gardens and fresh eggs. A place you can get muddy , catch a toad, find a peacock feather or hug a chicken. Children are allowed to squirt hoses at will . My grandson and I are planning to build a stick house on the side yard. I have no idea how to build a stick house but we have plenty of sticks. At four he has lots of ideas all based on lego buildings.  He calls the side yard "my secret yard".  My granddaughter wants a tree fort in the huge pine tree, I'm pretty sure her dad and Pop ( Michael) will need to help with the build out.   As for me there is a cobb oven and front yard veggie garden in the works. This tiny house might be old


and weathered but it is a great keeper of dreams a wonderful healing space. Do you have a house you love?  What makes it home to you?