Hey-O September!! It's time for the SSS!
If you're a regular reader, you know that the Secret Subject Swap is a collaboration between various bloggers. We receive secret topics from a blogger in an e-mail and put our own spin on the subjects. The 12 blogs participating this time are listed at the end of this post. Go have a look and leave a comment. It will make
Your “Secret Subject” is:
You think your home is haunted by kind and gentle spirits, what do you do?
It was submitted by: Karen@ http://dinoheromommy.com/ Please check her out! She is working on an "Organized Blog Hop" right now. Who doesn't need a little organization?
I always say my house was built by angels; angels I was lucky enough to know...
My family was meant to move here, to Utah. I was meant to get a job at the school I did, and meet people who became invaluable parts of my world. I met "J." at that school. She was a master teacher who taught in the classroom next to mine. I was a terrified newbie, but she was willing to take me under her wing.
"Under her wing" is actually an understatement. She and her husband, "G." (also an educator) took my husband, daughter, and me into their arms. "J." mentored me. She traveled with me to association meetings, clubs and dinners. "G." joked with my husband about having wives with too much teacher "stuff". They bonded over computers and food. Our "adopted-parents" babysat and advised us on everything from how to get a mortgage to the importance of going on vacations.
"J." filled a void I didn't know I needed. I've written this paragraph over and over. I can't give justice to the gifts and lessons I received from her. She sat with me when I was frustrated and praised me when I needed it. I was eating gravy-fries with her in a diner when she told me I had an old-soul and that we were meant to be friends.
Then there were the personal blessings. When I was pregnant with my first son, "J." left tiny baby gifts in my school mailbox every day. She sat with me after the births of both of my sons. I had a hard pregnancy with our youngest; "J." came to stay with me for a week after he was born. She and her husband watched our children while we sat with a dying grandmother. "J." also held me like a baby while I cried over losing another. My children called her "Grandma". I don't think I'll ever understand how someone who was a stranger just years before could hold such unconditional love for my little family.
In 2003, "G." tragically passed away. In 2009, "J."died unexpectedly. Their passings are someone else's story to tell, but both left us shocked and numb. I still have a hard time believing they're not here.
When I was first hired to teach ('96,) I took my daughter to a daycare near the school. I remember driving through the neighborhood and wishing we could afford a home of our own. One of the most beautiful houses was one next door to the daycare. It turns out, the house was built the year my husband was born. More fateful? It was built by "G." for "J." and their two children.
11 years and three families later, the house was for sale. We were finally at a point where we could afford our forever home. My husband and I went to "J." to ask for her blessing to buy the house. Though she didn't have any ties to it, we wanted her to know. She was thrilled. In October of 2007 we were able to move in. "J." visited and walked us through, telling us what she could about the house.
It wasn't until I saw her fingertips softly touch the walls, that I realized how painful it was for her to be in the house without her husband. My heart ached for her and the experience made me appreciate the home even more. 18 months later, she was gone.
As I said before, our house was built by angels. Angels I saw with my own eyes. I live in a house that is
Thanks for the topic, Karen!
Here is an excerpt from a blog post I wrote back in March 2012. It was about something I was grateful for:
My house. I sometimes am afraid of the outside world. I don't enjoy shopping on Saturdays or going to movie premiers that are practically sold-out. I am just as happy sitting with my family in this aging old brick haven. We do not live in a cookie-cutter house. We do not live in a McMansion, or anything resembling "new or shiny."It's an old house with aluminum wiring that badly needs a new roof and windows that don't whistle when the wind blows. I write lots of blog posts on the different ways we try to fix it up, I know. It has great bones and was built by people we loved. People who aren't alive anymore; people I talk to when I'm repairing something. "Oh 'so-and-so, ' Why did you choose to put the wall here and why isn't it square?" or "Hey, 'so-and-so', Make sure I don't get electrocuted when I touch this wire..." It goes on and on. The point is, I genuinely love this house; as much as you can love something that doesn't breathe. I know like everything else, that it might not be standing forever. We live in a time of economic uncertainty..We live on a fault line and/or I run too many appliances all at once... But for now, I put my babies to sleep every night in this home. I read novels in its corners. I watch the sun stream in when it's cold outside from the living room windows. I create down in that silly craft room and sometimes, I cook in its kitchen... I will never take any of it for granted.
If you are interested in joining us for the next Subject Swap, you can visit its creator, the wonderful Karen @ Baking in a Tornado. You can also read all about the swap by clicking on the SSS icon on the side of my blog.
Don't forget to check out this month's talented participants!
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