Blessing #20 - Our Home

     Considering the financial situation we all are finding ourselves in these days, the ability to own or to buy one’s home is indeed a blessing. My family is one of those fortunate ones who has been able to keep the homeplace by continuing to work hard at our jobs and to successfully make it from day to day without the fear of losing it. So many of those in our area have not been so lucky.  Our farmhouse is over a hundred years old, has had 3 owners since it was built, is nothing fancy, but it is our “home sweet home" where we reared three wonderful children along with all kinds of pets. It is made of wood over which we have put siding for warmth, has a green tin roof which is great when it rains, and sits back across an old wooden bridge overlooking a babbling creek which carries just the perfect amount of water. All the time the children were growing up we had spring water, but about 10 years ago we finally dug a well...what a treat to have never ending water.  The house sits back against a BIG hill and is surrounded on all sides by a total of 10 acres. We have never actually farmed the land other than planting lots of victory gardens, but have let our neighbors cut and bail the hay from our fields for their cattle. There is an old working barn on the property and two other usable outbuildings.  Sadly, the owners before us knocked down the old springhouse which is a shame, but the water trough is still standing to remind us of what once was. At one time the old highway crossed the creek and ran right in front of the house - back in the house and buggy years - but that is no longer the case as the new road sits out across the bridge and a good ways from our front porch and our purple front door. It has 10 funky old rooms, not many closets, 3 chimneys and 2 fireplaces, NO usable attic and NO basement, a wonderful front porch held up by white columns overlooking the creek, and a two story deck we added on the back which abuts the hill behind.  Fortunately, by the time we bought it there was indoor plumbing, and since then we have added on a wonderful huge handicapped friendly bathroom just in case one of us needs it in the future.  Warm, cozy, and comfortable are the best words I can think of to describe it... but that tells only part of the story.

     A home is basically a structure: large or small, attractive or not so attractive, neat or messy on the inside, well kept or pretty rough looking on the outside. What goes on within the walls is what changes it from just being a place to eat and sleep to that special place where family actually lives life to its fullest, loving one another, and watching generations grow and prosper as a caring group of related people. It is not the physical plant that makes a house a home but rather the people who live inside and how they conduct their lives. We love ours as do our children and grandchildren.  It is a safe haven away from the trials and tribulations of our fast paced, stressful world.  It is quiet and peaceful, a beautiful place to start the day serenely with the sun’s rising, the birds’ singing, and the frogs croaking. In the evenings it is the spot we return to tired, but oh, so happy to walk through its door and into the santity of its hallowed walls. After having lived our lives that in the best way we could, we can now return home to the peace and solace that our yard and four walls offer us.  We love our old house, our land, and all of natures flora and fauna with which we share it.  It’s a lovely spot nestled in the Blue Ridgie Mountains of Virginia where we plan to live out the rest our lives.  Yes, we are among the fortunate ones to have a wonderful home, a wonderful family, and happy, fulfilled lives...31 memorable years we’ve spent here on this property and are still counting.  Our home and what it gives to us is Blessing #20.

“A house is made of walls and beams; a home is made of love and dreams.”
~Author Unknown