house.

it’s been over a year since i’ve owned this house.

i bought it in a flurry of trulia searching, foreclosure pursuing, and an array of other events. i bought it because it was green, because it’s on a street i love, and because even though the floors are a little crooked, the carpet is disgusting, and the basement is more than creepy it won me over.

it also came at a time when life seemed full of transition. i was working on becoming a full time employee instead of a contractor, i was living with my parents for a short while, coming off of a marathon run, and watching friends get married. the day i found out i got the house, i got jitters, jumped up and down, and felt completely unfit to be a homeowner. my dad came with me to sign the papers and make sure it was all legit.

the day i closed, chris and i brought bean bag chairs to the living room and drank wine from plastic cups. there was nothing else in the house. i left it that night sad that it would be lonely that evening after i owned it. and the next day, we loaded up cars and i moved in. just me in a 3 bedroom house.

i was a craigslist super hero and acquired a couch, table & chairs, dishwasher, microwave, washer & dryer, and air conditioner for under $175. i went away for the weekend and missed my house with all of its quirks and mismatched paint. my dad and i hung storm windows weekend after weekend, my grandpa painted my kitchen for my birthday (and my fence, and re-stained my kitchen table, and a rocking chair). my friend and i canned all day long in the kitchen and i slept with 3 fans pointed at my face in the heat of summer. i wept over my grandfather’s death in the red kitchen he painted, received the first photo of my niece here. i got engaged while living in this house and held wedding showers for friends here.

my well laid plans for roommates fell through and two months later it was still just me in this house. interview after interview of roommates (which was a terrible process) and i couldn’t seem to find two people who loved this house as much as i and wanted to commit for a year. what had i done?

but, fortunately through a friend of a friend, tamara came along. the day she moved in, i just wanted to tell her everything about the house, help her arrange everything, but knew i had to give space to this girl i hardly knew. two weeks later, i met alice over the phone, sent her pictures of the house and she pulled up in her car (from seattle) about two weeks after that. and like that, the house was filled. it felt so good.

the three of us had a year together. we went from strangers to cutting down a christmas tree together to canning to training for the riverbank run. we dealt with a furnace that was possessed (and still is), a couple of mice, and a near fire. and just like that, less than a year later tamara got married and alice moved back to seattle.

and so it was just me again. but this time it was me two weeks until a married me. i had two weeks with this house before it was no longer “my” house but “our” house and i was thrilled. i spent two weeks doing absolutely nothing to the house to prepare for chris’ arrival (wedding plans trumped it)!

and now its our house. and its awesome. i have someone who loves this house as much as i do, who loves its quirks, who (with a little prodding) wants to make it the best and most cozy 112 year old house ever. i am so blessed. so blessed to have the opportunity to OWN a house, to have had roommates love it and now my husband love it. to have parents who hang curtains, put up storm windows, and build sheds.

so green house, may chris and you and i have the best of times here. may your beams hold us well, your walls keep us warm, and your windows us wake up to the sunrise.