We have an accepted offer & it's becoming more and more real every day. It seems a tad silly to feel so attached to a house, a structure, a building, but I am.
Our trees a reminder of children swinging & climbing through every single season in them. The grass is worn from feet sliding by on the rope swing that hangs higher up than anyone can reach. Our kitchen nook has had every conversation imaginable around it, everything from the birds & the bees to "Should we move back to Haiti?" has been discussed right where I am sitting now typing this. Our front yard used to be the place for snow blown paths to a trusty neighbor’s house & I can’t even count the amount of bubbles that have floated through the skies outside. Our dog, Hank, has been brought back here from his numerous runaways, even the time he went to the country club down the way, we joked about what a boujie dog we have going to the country club and all. We’ve sat around our fire pit with endless rounds of “Would You Rather” and we have roasted and burned many marshmallows there, too. Our carpets have been laid on, puked on, slept on and rolled all over when we moved back from our tile filled Haiti house. Our stove has hosted burned bacon, our dishwasher has had suds pour out & all over the floor because someone decided Dawn dish soap was the right fit for cleaning that day. I’ve stared out the window over the beautifully unique black sink of ours, watching the birds in the tree right outside while my succulents hang in a golden circle from the white trim above. I’ve wept when the tree died and I have found hope when there was another one I could focus on nearby. We’ve brought kids home from China here, fiancés have been brought here & I always did hope grandkids would come visit me here, too. Boyfriends have become family here, & worship has been abundant in every inch of this place. We have prayed in unison and on our own in each room & we have dreamed big dreams together here, as well. Youth groups & kids Joe has coached in football have gathered here...there have been countless pairs of shoes on our landing. Neighbors have become grandparents, baking cookies with the kids & giving them rides around in their convertible. Kids have walked the neighborhood selling wrapping paper, cookies & all sorts of other fundraising things. Dorian has even used Worthy as the best little marketing tool in the neighborhood, I think he was the top seller that year. I’ve watched our kids sled down the hill across the way & I have started and stopped Couch to 5k more times than I can count around this block. First jobs, learner's permits & driver's licenses have happened here. We've had concussions, broken bones & tonsillectomies, wisdom teeth taken out & a few stitches to boot. We’ve loved here, we’ve laughed here, we’ve cried here, we have mourned & we have inspired each other here. We've fought, we've made up, we have said stupid things and we have made those things right here. We've had prom & homecoming, elementary, middle & high school graduations living here. Aiyana will get married before we move & only God knows what other things we will see, do & face under this roof in the coming days & weeks. Only He knows how many times we will hold hands, pray & trust together again in this space. We’ve left here for a year & we have walked the painful road of coming back here with our hearts half in Haiti still. Haiti has been calling us back since the day we returned home to Wisconsin, and while it is absolutely exciting I will not lie and hide the fact that I am filled with mourning, too.
I can’t begin to share all of the memories we have made here, but I find peace knowing that they are innumerable and that even though we won’t be in this place for long, the memories will forever be. So, for a couple of months we will soak in every second as we create a few more lasting memories here. We will never have to leave the old or new memories behind because they go with us wherever we go.
The collection of experiences we have shared here will permeate this house and our hearts, our hearts where they have taken root & will always remain...they never have to be part of our sacrifice.
(This post is an excerpt from Manila Files: June 2019 . To read more, subscribe today!)
