I can see a backyard suited for sitting. I can see it with a garden, an area for the children and dog to play. I can see a table with comfortable chairs and one of those decorative fire pits as well as a BBQ. During the day you would be able to sit out under a large umbrella or awning to hide from the glare of the sun. At night you would be able to sit out and look at the stars and speak in hushed tones as not to insult the night's display. It would have a strong, patient, sturdy tree planted in one corner. The kind that will allow you to play hide and seek or a magical place for the boys to climb. There would be soft green grass. The kind that invites you to lay down and look at the ever shifting shape of the clouds as they make their journey across the sky. Chimes would be hanging near by. When the wind blows they would tell tales of a time when magic was carried on the breeze. The garden area would be home to herbs and spices and sassy little perennials. There would be quaint re purposed garden decorations and maybe even a fairy dwelling or two.
The house that guarded this backyard would be like a dear old friend. The type that welcomes you with open arms and is glad you are there. It would have enough rooms to make everyone comfortable yet not so large as to be daunting to keep neat and clean. It would have hardwood floors and a fireplace. The windows would be just the right number to allow in the maximum of cheery sunshine without making it feel like you were residing in a fishbowl.
As you entered this home, from the backyard, you would be greeted by the mud/laundry room. It would not be a large ostentatious space but large enough to comfortably house the washer and dryer as well as a place to leave up the ironing board and store the shoes.
Then you would find the kitchen. It would be the kind that would make you feel the confidence to try wonderful new recipes yet be happy to just have a simple meal prepared. It would be big enough to hold friends having a interesting discussion about the current day politics or to just have the children be able to play on the floor and not be worried about being trod on by an inspiring chef.
There would be a dining room that held a table that would be grateful for having a family gathering seated. Or be just as content having it's surface being used as a launching pad for some new artistic creation.
The living room would be just for that. Living. It would house comfortable furniture that just begs for you to put your feet up and stay awhile. It would be the place that the family gathers to celebrate, discuss, love, laugh, cry and relax. We would warm our chilled appendages by the warmth of it's fireplace, and place our proud portraits on it's mantle.
The house would also have a den that would serve dual purpose. It would allow a place for computers to happily hum as the boys battled with imaginary foes and explored unknown regions. But it would also be place for craft items to sit and wait while they were called to duty.
The bedrooms would allow each of us a place of our own. A place that we might be still and quiet. A place to rest our weary heads and dream.
There would be two bathrooms. Each with a small window to allow for the escape of swirling steam from a shower or to allow fresh air in.
This lovely house would also boast a front covered porch. It would be large enough to allow the boys some place dry to play on a rainy day. Or allow you to sit and just watch your neighborhood go by. It would hold the jack-o-lanterns at Halloween and the twinkling lights at Christmas. It would welcome your guests and be a place for strangers to wait before being granted entry.
I might not know all the details of the house or it's current location, but I see and feel it. I see it waiting for us patiently. Wanting us to come and reside in it. To be happy and share our family with it. It would protect us from wrongs and give us loving solace at times of sorrow. It would take care of us and we would gladly take care of it. Our family home.
*Sorry to bore you all with this but, felt compelled to write this. So I went with the feeling.
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