MY HOUSE
The other night I was sitting in my comfortable recliner watching television. I looked around the living room and started thinking about how much I really enjoy the house we have lived in for about 40 years. It looks and feels homey. Our house has a lot of character, and is very relaxing. We have always loved our neighborhood on fourth Avenue in Madison.
In the confines of these walls, we have raised four children and created a family environment. Many holidays have been celebrated in those 40 years. We have cried, laughed, fought, loved, and done life in this house.
Roxie and I bought our home from the Herians in 1978, when we were 20 years old. The family had not even put the house up for sale before we bought it. Roxie’s sister Kathy and brother-in-law Larry were living next door at the time. The Herians had told Kathy they were going to put the house up for sale, and told us about the Herians’ home. Roxie and I had a meeting with Kathy and Larry. The subject was about living next to each other, and if it would work out okay. We bought the house. They have been the best neighbors ever!
We moved into the house on June 30th 1978, it was our oldest son’s first birthday. So, after family and friends helped us move in, we celebrated Josh’s first birthday on our new patio in the backyard in the 100-degree heat! That’s what I remember most about that day.
The house is small. How we raised four kids in this house is beyond me. The house is very small for a family of six to live in, but we made it work. It’s an old house, built in the 1920’s. We have made many changes over 40 years. We have knocked out walls, removed paneling, painted, new flooring, carpeted, replaced all the windows, rearranged a number of rooms, and gutted the basement, pouring a new concrete floor. Outside we shingled, sided the house, planted trees and removed bushes. And added a double garage. Many improvements over a 40-year span.
Now that both of us are getting older, we know a time is coming when we may need to leave this house and move into an apartment or senior center. That will be a sad day. Hopefully we can finish our days out in this house.
I need to give credit to my wife. She has really done a nice job making this house into a home. It’s a nice place to be. It’s a safe place to be. It’s a comfortable place to be. It’s our home and we like it.