The house. I suppose you could say we are in the finishing phase of construction. The concrete floors have been finished, the cabinets have been delivered, the tile is in boxes stacked in one of the upstairs bedrooms. There is a large pile of finished trim waiting patiently. It actually feels like a home inside. I can't say that it feels like my home.
I have often wondered, when does a newly built house truly feel like home? When you move into an older home (which is all I have ever lived in), it comes with a life of it's own. There is an energy there that is created from time past. People have walked down the hall on the wood floors, they have done their dishes at the kitchen sink, they have open the front door every day. They have lived, loved, fought, laughed, cried...had good days, bad days, and all the days in between. They have come home to that house every day and have really lived...and so, the house has a life too. It has something subtle to give to the next person who lives there...it gets passed on. But, in a house where everything is new, where does the life come from? I guess it comes from us...we will be the start.
We did put some old things into our new space - like a reclaimed beam and reclaimed wood floors Our cabinetry is made from wood sourced from an old fir nurse log that lived for many years, fell in the forest, and grew new life. I hope these things give the house a sense of something past. For now, we will be waiting patiently and wondering what it will be like when we live there...and we won't be waiting that much longer.
