This year, we celebrate 25 years of marriage, so let’s take a walk down memory to our first home. We were in our twenties, still basically fearless, full of dreams, and ready for something to call “ours”. We closed on our first home just a couple of weeks after our wedding.

Looking back, I wonder how we planned a wedding and bought a house in less than six months. We looked, searching high and low, and then one day our agent called and said you need to see this one. I was skeptical, to say the least, as the search honeymoon had worn off. That faded away as we pulled up and I tried to hide my excitement, but there’s a reason I don’t play poker.

She was a small 2-bedroom bungalow in a whimsical green. Not too big for the budget, yet not too small for the two of us, and hope for what may come. The front was dressed in a bay window, a beautiful wood door, and white shutters. In the back was a long wooded yard, home to a city load of squirrels and bunnies. A narrow drive led to a one-car garage and to the left, a 3-season porch with a swing awaited. 

On the other side of that wood door, we found a wall of built-ins with a small electric fireplace and, of course, that beautiful bay window opened the room perfectly. But the arched doorways and the hardwood floor in the dining room had me at hello. Soft light filtered through the patio door, highlighting the stunning floors and framing the backyard view. 

The alley kitchen had floor-to-ceiling cabinets, with a built-in refrigerator surrounded by more cabinets, just right for storing all the stuff I had yet to own. A little phone nook in the hall and a wood ceiling in the bath. Finished room in the basement with hinged shutter doors, perfect for a “man cave”.  

I could go on about all the things that the cute little bungalow offered, but in the end, it wasn’t the stability or character that sold me. It was a vision, a capsule of sorts to hold my dreams. A place where those dreams would unfold and become reality. It wasn’t perfect, neither were we, but the potential was bursting at the seams.

There are many joyful memories and some sad ones too. In this home, we lost our first pet, Zoe, a beautiful, yet crazy calico cat. We buried her in the backyard where the squirrels and bunnies frolicked. We welcomed our first child to this home, Emma’s first home. A nursery carefully crafted in soft yellow, because we wanted to be surprised. In this space, we grieved a miscarriage, and I feebly tried to convince myself that I was content with one child. This was also our first dog, Doc’s home too; we miss you, good boy.

Within the 4 walls and under the roof of our first home, we found out our family would indeed include another child, so we decided to move forward with our next chapter and build a new home for our growing family. I remember vividly the day we left that home and a part of my heart. 

Ava was due the same day we were to sign closing papers on the new home. Yes, the same day! Thankfully, she took after her momma and was late for her birth date. We had enough time to hang blinds, hook the washer and dryer up, and set up the crib. 

And so, the next chapter began with us creating a new home to dream and grow, again not perfect, but bursting with potential.

-Joni