Last Wednesday night we walked into our friend's house for the first time for dinner and it just was, well, beautiful. Beautifully done, restful and I was struck for a moment with house envy. This might not sound like a big deal but I RARELY have house envy. I have been inside HUGE, beautiful homes, newly remodeled homes, spotless homes, well decorated homes and not once have I ever really felt house envy. Oh, of course, I have looked in bathrooms and imagined the luxury of not having my knees almost touch the tub when going to the bathroom. I have imagined what it must be like to have a bedroom bigger than a large closet for my big, beautiful baby boy. Yet, overall, I LOVE our house. It is home to me and is just absolutely perfect for us......until last Wednesday.
I have no idea why it struck me so hard but Friday after the dinner I looked at Joe and said we need to rip up our carpet NOW. It is 6:30pm at this point and next week Joe starts back to school, my parent's are on vacation and harvest is starting in earnest. This is not the time to be pulling up carpet but I feel the an URGENT need to pull up the carpet.......RIGHT NOW. My wonderful husband pulls up the carpet.
Today it is exactly one week from that Friday when the need was so URGENT and we have just come back from my parents. The kids and I lived there for a week while Joe worked day and night (literally, one night he crept into my parent's house at 1:30 in the morning) to get all the work done. For once the carpet was up in the dining room we noticed the ceiling really should be done in the living room since the paint was peeling. After all the carpet was coming up in there and the furniture all had to be moved ANYWAY.......this was the persuasive argument made to my husband. So the ceiling was scraped and primed and painted which led to the walls being painted which finally led to the carpet being pulled up. And so we are here to day back home and it looks great.
But what I have discovered is what I should have always remembered.............I am the messy mom not the beautiful, restful mom. My home and it's decoration or lack of is a reflection of who I am. And while I hope that no one would ever say my home is messy, I don't think anyone would ever come photograph it for a house beautiful magazine shoot. It's cozy and warm and where kids come and go and play and want to come back. It's a place to run and be free and not think that something will get mussed or dirty. This is who I am, this is the family we are and this is what my kind friend shared with me after I told her I had house envy. She was surprised and said that she wouldn't ever imagine anyone having envying her house. She made the comment that she felt our home was welcoming and that she felt part of the family when she came in. It was spot on and what I have always wanted out of our home. So while my husbandmade our space a bit easier to manage, without all that nasty carpet down and I would love to keep on this decorating spree and tear up other areas of the house it's time to get back to living and playing and being the messy mom. Hopefully I will remember this the next time I walk into YOUR house :) For somehow I have managed to always have beautiful, restful, clever, creative friends whose homes reflect that beauty................
Just a few of those beautiful friends at a Fancy Nancy Tea party we had for Sofia and some of her friends.
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