Making a House a Home

It was nice to have a few days off from work to relax and get things done around the house. Thursday after work Jamie and I went up to his folks house for dinner to celebrate his 30th birthday. It was nice to see them along with Jonny, Erin and baby Brendan. I had sent Jean flowers at work to thank her for the Big ray of sunshine she brought into the world, she loved them and they had really made her day. Jonny and Erin's birthday present was 2 ice cream scoops, a perfect gift for Jamie!

Friday Jamie and I went apple picking at Sweet Berry Farms. It was a great time, the air was warm and crisp with the smells of fall. We had a fun time walking up and down the rows of apples and choosing ones to pick. I love apple picking, it's one of my favorite things and I'm glad we were able to catch the season this year as well. We also picked up pumpkins for each of us. We both can be particular and pumpkins are no exception. We both checked each pumpkin over and carefully made our final decisions. I chose the brightest orange round pumpkin I could find. Jamie wanted a darker tall one that had no blemishes on it. We both found our own perfect ones and walked away very happy. To me this farm hold a magical piece of life, if I go enough then maybe I'll be able to figure it out. Friday night Jamie cooked up pork roast with corn and I made up homemade applesauce. Greg came over and we all had a great dinner and night.

Saturday we worked around the house and went to a friend's house for Octoberfest in the evening. It was the first time Jamie and I have crossed the Mount Hope Bridge into Bristol, which seems strange because it's maybe 10 minutes from our house. There was a good crowd of people and we had dinner and tasted all different types of Octoberfest beers that people had brought. After the tasting there was lots of jokes and laughter, we had a fun time hanging out with everyone.

Sunday we finished up some jobs around the house and started the attack on the basement. It was dirty but I'm glad that we got it started.

Yesterday we went out to my parent's house for dinner. It had been awhile since I had been out for a visit and they loved having us over. I packed up the car with the last few things of mine from my parent's house. It felt strange that I didn't still have most of my things there, a sad separation for me. It affected my dad too, he said that he didn't like the fact that I didn't call their house "home" anymore. It was an unintentional realization of leaving the nest for both of us I think.

It reminded me of when Jamie and I came back to Mass. after living in South Carolina. When we were down there I missed being home in Mass. and when we moved back I missed living down there. There was an odd sense of longing no matter where I was, both had a place in my heart. Change is good but it uproots the comfort factor that sneaks in when you aren't looking and just going about your day.

I'm happy in our new house, it truly feels like home to me. I love the routines that we have fallen into, it feels comfortable and perfect. It feels good to be doing manual labor on our house and putting our fingerprints on it. I am looking forward to our years together in our home, putting down roots and making memories.