And, Here We Are

The driveway up to our new (to us) rental is steep, narrow, and embraced by maples and firs and ferns. I once got stuck upon this very driveway, heading up to meet with friends and braking to meet the vehicle heading down, and therefore have tried to avoid this little road thereafter. Today, I sense the knowing smirks of critters watching me as now it is my only passageway to my home and out from it. So I lay on the horn as I head up, warning, Watch out! I am barreling up! And I do, with purpose.

The home is sprawling and old, with all the charms that sprawling and old present. We’ve spent most of last six weeks not only packing and moving our goods, but in freshening up the home with paint. And I mean paint. Lots and lots and lots of paint (did I mention this house is sprawling?). The painting still continues, but I am seeing progress, and nothing brightens up a home like a coat (or two) of fresh paint. This house has 19 rooms at my count, and perhaps I have met it halfway with the brush.

Old houses have their quirks as well. With multiple previous owners making their mark, each with their own ideas of decor and home improvements, it becomes a bit of a puzzle to fit your own personality and presence into (making it all the more fun for future residents). I have no idea, for example, why the fridge area sits upon a box, as the previous resident is not short. But there it is, and so baby has an interesting platform to play upon and I try to avoid having to open the freezer.

And the gifts left behind! Old engines, farming equipment, furniture…all I am sure with the generosity of thinking it will be a blessing to whomever comes next. And sometimes it is (my son was pretty happy finding this knife!). But I know from experience (I’ve done it, too) that leaving those things behind are more to avoid disposal than to be a help to someone else. It can become a treasure hunt, however, and it IS fun to find things that are beautiful and useful. Such as, well, this throwing knife. That’s fun and useful, yes?

What’s more fun for me is foraging and exploring the new surroundings! Not only is this place ripe with fruit (plums, salmon berries, figs–FIGS, and more), but so many herbs! Nettle, blackberry, raspberry, horsetail, dock, comfrey, and more. When you move from an HOA neighborhood full of grassy lawns and trimmed hedges to the wild woods with half a cultivated garden, not only do you get oh-this-is-a-new-environment-allergies but you get food and medicine without your neighbor’s chemical lawn treatments. “I promise to come,” I tell those wild woods and garden, “just as soon as my paint brushes are clean.” Hopefully, this autumn.

Meanwhile, we are in the midst of buying our own slice of land, so my mind has been wandering to my own little wilderness and how I might cultivate and leave my own personal quirks. I’ve been carting this oregano around, for example, for years. I’m ready to give it an earthy home and let it spread its roots. And maybe I’m ready to give our children a home like that, too. But even so, I recognize I have almost five decades behind me, and whatever I create will indeed be left behind for someone else to come along and freshen and find gifts for their own. So I hold it loosely, this “home of my own” idea, knowing that my true home is being prepared for me even now, and it is a sure and eternal one.

Regardless of where I live, I continue to enjoy creative endeavors, of which homemaking is the best. So anything I can learn to add to my home or to bless my family with in any way is an especially worthy undertaking. I’ve learned so much, and am learning still so much, about herbal and homeopathic medicines, botany, cooking, mixed media art forms and the textile arts. I’m enjoying my studies on Biblical counseling, and the ongoing education I receive while educating my own children. And on it goes. Being a keeper at home offers so many blessings and freedoms to embark on so many things; it is a great privilege to shake the rugs out or bake a loaf of bread or gently cover a sleeping toddler. In the end, it doesn’t matter where you live. A house is just a house. But a home…is a slice of heaven on earth. I’m glad to be getting a little more settled again into one.

Onward,