Sunday, April 24, 2005

This Old House

I'm traveling, again, for work. This will be the last of the trips for a while and I'm actually pretty thankful. Although of course I have to go out with the most exhausting trip of the year - the trip where we have long days, followed by long nights, hours of standing, hundreds of miles of driving, too much food, not enough sleep, and wishing more and more each day that I was sleeping in my own bed at home. Oh well, such is the life of this working woman.

The best part of this trip is being able to spend quality time with my grandparents. I've seen them more in these last five years than in the 21 years beforehand. This has truly become my "home" away from "home" and I've come to appreciate this "home" much more with every passing year. They live in a small community just north of San Francisco, called Mill Valley. They have the smallest house on the block - but even that is 3 stories. I've practically grown up here and the myriad of photos around the house will tell you the same. I remember, as a kid, spending hours in the back garden among the redwood trees. They have these small paths of stone outlining different sections of the backyard - I would take my tape player and listen to my ultra-cool 80s music while "discovering" unknown plants and bugs of the garden. The front yard, too, had it's own draw. There used to be a dog, Dixie, who lived next door. I would stand at the fence with my hand stuck through the gate to touch her coat and to tell her my secrets. Dixie was my only play friend on the street while I was growing up here, but she was always reliable and a good listener. Nowadays, I spend more time in the kitchen helping my grandmother whip up a batch of tapenade or drinking glasses of wine while listening to my grandparents talk about their most recent trip to Thailand. The kitchen is the most appealing part of the house now and I could spend hours there... I love this old house despite its quirks. And despite the fact that it is always FREEZING. It could be sunny and hot outside, but I swear, this house would be -10 degrees inside. It gets hardly any light and the spiders are abundant. But it's all part of the charm.

I love waking up in the morning and dreading to get out of the warm bed (because it's going to be freezing). But I also know that I can walk upstairs, throw a blanket around my shoulders and fix a hot cup of English tea and be right at home... I love it. And I love the laughter and conversation that has been had in this old house. It has truly become part of ME and I'm just so blessed to be able to be here.
Posted by Jessie_b :: 7:04 PM :: ---------------oOo---------------