A few years ago, a friend of Brian’s and his wife came to visit us. We were very excited to host our friends we had not seen in a while, prepping the house for the tour that inevitably follows inviting someone into your relatively new home. Our friend made a comment I will never forget. “It is so obvious looking around your house that you don’t have kids.” Not, “Oh, look at that light fixture,” or “Your floor plan is so open,” or “How do you like the paint colors you chose?’ or even “Nice house.” Just a comment regarding the lack of obvious adornments a house acquires when children inhabit it. This comment was especially hurtful to me not because it was void concerning the pleasant condition of the house and its features, but because we had been trying to have children for some time, gone through a few insemination cycles and were, at that exact time, speaking with different fertility specialists preparing for in vitro. (Our infertility experiences are another blog post coming sometime) I do not remotely fault her for striking a painful subject with me. How could she have known? In fact, today, I regard her comment as a compliment. She didn’t comment on the light fixtures, floor-plan or paint because that was not what she immediately observed. She longingly noticed nothing was primary colored, everything had a place, breakable artifacts courageously stood within 3 feet from the floor, live plants were strewn about on flimsy decorative plant stands positioned on carpet, and fingerprints did not blanket any and everything glass.
Today, 7 years later. I think she would not say the same. Here is some evidence this house is, without a doubt, inhabited by children!
This can be found taking up my family room if I dont fold it up and hide it well enough.
Constantly unflushed, seat-left-up toilets.
Kids' bathroom mirror 2 days after I clean it
Refrigerator Art
The third garage stall.
BriberyInside the pantry
AND FINALLY...
We own this.
KEEP BELIEVING
Someday, when they are grown and gone, and you can walk across the floor without weaving around the detritus, and you get a little lonely, you can look back at this.
ReplyDeleteIf I read this right you have a third garage stall? You are so lucky! With the 4 kids, all of our stuff takes up one whole side of the garage and we can barely park our van on the other side! Your post reminds me of a situation that happened to me a few years ago. I had 3 kids at the time and was running my daycare out of my home. A new lady and her husband and son just moved into the neighborhood and the boy was on the same bus as my girls. As we were waiting for the bus, she directly told me she was looking for friends for herself and her son. (She was from Japan and her English was very broken and she didn't mince words when she made this request!)I invited her over and as she surveyed the clutter, the craft stuff, the miniature table and chairs right beside the regular table etc., the words out of her mouth were, "Wow! Your house is...so...for...kids!" I didn't know whether to take that as a compliment or critisism! Anyway, whatever she meant, she was very right, my house was very "for kids", still is and will be for a loooong time! As frustrated as I get sometimes with the mess, the clutter, the unflushed toilets, the sticky floor, the full garage...I really would not have it any other way!
ReplyDeleteLol. That's what my house looks like too. I fight it but it wins.
ReplyDeleteWe have three bays too, and our van is dark blue. :)
Yeah, you definitely have kids!
ReplyDeletePsst....our van is just like yours. :)
My kids call the third garage stall the "toy garage" - let me note that the lawn mower and snow blower are in there too...somewhere!
ReplyDeleteHAH!!! LOL!!!
ReplyDeleteMy house screams "KIDS LIVE HERE!!!" I love it, I don't want to live in a museum with things you can't touch or rooms you can't go into. Sounds like no fun to me!!
Christina
I love your house, Angie. It looks much like ours, but cleaner! Over the past six months of having the house on the market, the realtors have told me to keep all evidence of the kids hidden...and I refuse! It's impossible! Life is too short to live like that. We have the same van, too! :-)
ReplyDeleteAnd you wouldn't have it any other way!
ReplyDeleteOh my god. You have Justice Keague crackers!!!!! Please tell me where you found them. Please please please.
ReplyDeleteAnd the house -- totlaly like mine and I only have the one boy!
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