Renovations

Well, we're renovating again.

The great thing about renovations is that you (usually) end up with something better than before.

Another great thing about renovating is that now you have an excuse for all the dust in the house.

We have a beautiful, big, 95 year old house. I am "decorating challenged" so I have trouble trying to find paints and fabrics to make my house look unique. Those things are not necessary here. The high ceilings, wide baseboards, interesting lines and funky closets make this place different from any other.

There is something about an older home that connects me to the peole who lived here before. If only these walls could speak! What stories would they tell! What secrets would they share?

I think the dining room walls would have the most to say. What have they seen and heard as people lingered over a glass of wine after a meal? I'd like to think that there's been laughter, tears, heated political discourse (after all, these walls have lived through two world wars), and discussions about renovations. These walls have heard engagement announcements, seen newborn babies fussed over, listened to prayers of thanksgiving and hope. And music. These walls have heard plenty of music and song.

Every family that has lived here has left its imprint upon these walls. Like a tapestry, the lives of each family has been woven into the fabric, making this home unique, different from any other.

I wonder what these walls would say about my family.

What do they think when they see children participating, even directing the discussions around the table? Shouldn't "children be seen and not heard?" Do they think of the starving people when they see food left on plates? Do they frown down on us when we excuse the children to go and play while the adults finish up? They must have wondered what was happening the first time the men got up to clear the table after dinner, a sight to which they have now become accustomed.

Like the other families who have called this place home, we are leaving our mark. This is something that cannot be covered with paint and paper. It is an indelible spot that will remain with this home long after we move away and our voices will be added to the symphony of sounds, smells and feelings that make up this old house.