Laundry Rooms and Pantries

When Scout was born, we searched far and wide for the perfect house. We wanted something with lots of space, more rooms, and near a great school. Tyler and I actually still have a wish list of everything for, what she calls our “Barbie Dream House.” It includes things like an overlook, a legit laundry room, a separate pantry, and enough bedrooms for each family member. It’s an extensive list of some reasonable, attainable house attributes.

We never did find that perfect house.

Instead, we bought a house we absolutely love, the one we were living in. It’s too small, and doesn’t have enough rooms. In fact, I had to give up my office to make room for Avett. Our house shares walls with some really great neighbors, who we can call on at any time to feed Louie if we are out too late or take out the garbage if we forget to bring the cans to the curb before leaving for an overnight trip.

There’s no overlook or laundry room, so if we let it go a day or two too long, it spills into the floor at the foot of the stairs.

Sounds of a Home

But what our house does have is the sound of a three-year-old girl laughing and being a complete goofball about 90 percent of the time. It has enough counter space to get completely covered in flour and sugar anytime we invent a new chocolate-chip-and-secret-ingredient cookie. It has a bathtub that houses epic water fights and measuring cup experiments.

And now it has our newborn baby’s soft cries and squeals reverberating in the bedroom.

We might have missed the boat on finding the house that checks every box, but what we found instead was a sanctuary for our close-knit, growing family. I’m feeling extra thankful tonight as I see my son lit by the soft glow of an artificial tree that we liked too much after Christmas to take down. I’m feeling extra thankful tonight as I remember my daughter asking for “one more hug and kiss for Baby Brother” before hopping in the car for school.

Thanks for being here,
Dale