A flood of memories of that first visit came back as I looked at the photos and read the words of the post. I knew this was our house - but I didn't want to fully admit it at the time - in case I was wrong.
And now, here we are a year later feeling a sense of belonging and "rightness" that we've never fully felt in a home or a place before.
It's sort of funny to think about how this neighborhood felt like suck a wild card when we first visited this house. We now see it as by far the best, most fun and most cohesive neighborhood we've ever been part of. We've loved getting to know the wonderful people who were here when we got here plus several other great families have moved in. It's a wonderful eclectic mix of people here. I love diversity.
The kids play outside every day with neighbors - they work on the fort they're building in the backyard or ride their scooters and bikes up and down the sidewalks shaded by big beautiful trees - looks like something out of a movie.
Our backyard has become a gathering place for a bunch of kids who love our basketball hoop and make-shift weedy soccer field in the backyard (there's a new crop of kids this fall - but most of these same kids are still around).
Liza and her friend Olivia call out to each other from their 3rd floor bedrooms at night - separated by just a few feet.
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| Liza and Olivia's bedroom windows face each other across the driveway |
We walk a block to the library a couple times a week and enjoy all the great books and games there.
Every month, we visit a new, beautiful art exhibit at the art center in this old mansion nearby.
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P.S. As luck would have it, I just saw an old post I wrote about the meaning of home that's been re-posted today on the main page at Power of Moms. Interesting timing that I should be finishing this post about how this really feels like home now and then come across this post from a year or so ago about the feeling of home we had in St George and the feeling of home in the house where I grew up - check it out if you want:
http://powerofmoms.com/2011/10/the-meaning-of-home/
4 comments:
I love the character in your house and the arts center! Tell Eliza that when I was in 2nd grade I had a neighbor friend whose window was also a few feet across from mine. We rigged up a secret note sending line between us. We had a couple of u-shaped tacks that we ran a string through and then we would roll our notes around the string and send them across to each other, kind of like those old timey clotheslines that you saw on TV between apartment buildings. Of course, if it's too dangerous to set that up, you might not want to tell her about it!
We've been here for four years now. . . which is longer than we've ever lived anywhere. Kind of feels like it's time to pack up and move, but I think we are here to stay. Rachel is a bit jealous of Eliza and Olivia's windows. . . !
I'm so glad for another reason...you're so close to "home"! Love being able to drop by after only an hour ride. So fun to see the kids do their Primary program yesterday and get some great Idaho potatoes straight out of the ground. Most importantly, I got to see the transformers and Ashton got his phone back! Love those cute kids!
We feel the same way Saren, Ogden is where we are supposed to be ! So glad you and your family are here !
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