08/13/2026
Last week my parents sold the house I grew up in.
I was in 5th grade when they built the house. They met with builders and customized it just how they wanted it. Thinking through every little detail - except for that one light switch that someone forgot to move when they were designing so they lived with their light switch located behind the bathroom door for 28 years. We visited the house every few days to see the progress and grew more excited to move in. When the walls were finished and the papers were signed I remember the hours my parents spent picking out borders and wallpaper (hello 90's), staining wood trim and doors, pinching pennies to do the upgrades they wanted and doing whatever finishing touches they could to cut costs. Once we moved in they slowly decorated it and made it just how (mom) wanted. Flower gardens and vegetable gardens were planted. Animals came and went in the pasture. Rooms were rotated and rearranged.
A home was made.
Since then, that house has held laughter, tears, grief, joy, and every emotion in between. It has hosted our family, friends, and extended family for countless events. End of season parties, bonfires, birthdays, graduations, Easter dinners, Christmases, Thanksgivings, a wedding, pre and post funeral gatherings, and retirement dinners. It has hosted dozens of cousin sleepovers, a crappy Valentine's Day, a few near death experiences, and a handful of 911 calls. If those walls could talk - well, I'm glad they can't...
For a long time it was home. Even after I moved out there was so much peace in being within the walls of that house. But in this season of life I have learned that home isn't walls and a roof. Home is the people you are with. Home is wherever we all gather.
So here's to looking forward to filling their new house with memories and always feeling like I'm home wherever we all gather.