The "New" House

On Memorial Day, 2013, we moved into our new house on a private lane.  Our neighborhood consists of three houses.  But from our hilltop abode, we can see only glimpses of the other two through the leaves in the spring and summer,  and corners of them through the branches in the fall and winter. One neighbor is a retired school teacher and her husband and the other couple is a retired contractor and his wife.  Both couples have given our boys generous permission to play where ever they want on the hillside, even if games of tag and exploration of the woods bring my exuberant boys on to their property.

Our "Little House in the Country" has an open floor plan with a master bedroom on the ground floor and the boys' rooms on the second floor with their own bathroom up there too. The finished basement needs a new paint job to reign in the eight different colors currently on the walls.  The room spans the width and length of the house and, I think, the decor was chosen by the boy who used to live there.

Surrounding the house is a little over two acres of land.  Some of it is wooded with lots of space for two young growing boys to explore and discover.  Our drive way is a quarter of a mile from our house to the main road.  No one can see and not to many people even know our house is at the top.  Many times while the guys are headed down to get the newspaper at the main road, they have startled deer and turkeys, not to mention the usual squirrels and rabbits.

The previous owners left behind a tree house that the boys have dubbed their clubhouse.  It even has real windows that slide open and closed.  They have added a small table and two chairs to the space and I'm sure a request for a coat of paint is not far behind. I can't wait to hear the discussion that leads to the color choice.

There was a large portion of the back yard (actually the side yard, but it is the largest section so it is "The Backyard) fenced to contain a garden.  A garden that size would have easily fed a family the size of the Duggar clan and would have killed me and caused no end of grief.  So we pulled out half the fence and now the garden for us is one-third the size.  It is still a thorn in my side, but one I will bear for fresh green beans and garden-ripe tomato sandwiches.

We are surprised at the freedom we feel living in the country as opposed to living in a subdivision.  We don't have to worry about keeping curtains or blinds pulled to avoid the eyes of the neighbors seeing our dash to the laundry room to grab a pair of jeans from the dryer.  If the grass get a little long, we are not going to get a "nasty-gram" from the Home Owners Association.  And if we park our camper in the driveway, no one will complain about it being an eye-sore.

While we are still 15 minutes from the grocery store and less than an hour from the big city, we feel a subtle separation from the hustle and bustle life can bring.  Even after a year, I admit, I still have a lot of sorting and organizing to do.  There is chaos and clutter at times, that covers every flat surface.  But sitting on the swing on the covered back deck, watching deer wander by and listening to the woodpecker capture his dinner, peace fills my heart. My boys are healthy and happy.  My hard working husband comes home each day to a house filled with love and energy and is refreshed. As long as our home is our retreat from the world, we will be ready for anything that happens beyond the driveway.