Monday, June 22, 2009

The Cedar House, a cat named Harely and bursting at the seams


This is our Cedar House (a house with Cedar Siding).
Wait, no, that's not our house!
This house is actually in California ;)

Life is good here.

Mondays are a little tough. That's when Mr. Hall absconds to the Cedar House. He took the wee Pancake with him this week. She will be sleeping in a sleeping bag. There are no beds left there. No TV, no cable. Just one tiny laptop that is broken half the time. It is an empty house that she will, most likely, see for the last time. Last time I was there was, most likely, my last time.



That weekend was fun. Sad and fantastic at the same time. Funny thing though. That Sunday, Mr. Hall and I took separate cars to our favorite breakfast spot. On the way, I stopped at a few places and to take some photos. Then I kept stopping and took more photos. Then I realized, with each stop I started lingering. Then Mr. Hall called my cell phone. He had gotten to restaurant a half hour ago. "Where are you?", He asked.



I couldn't really answer because I was too choked up. I was standing in front of the best slide in all of Cedartown, in the best park too. I was petting the cat from one of the nearby houses. Her name is Harley and is a fuzzy orange tabby. She is always at the park.

All of the kids that come here love to pet Harley. My kids loved petting her. That cat loved every kid who loved her. And here I was, without the kids, saying goodbye to Harley. I gently scratched behind her ears and rubbed under the Harley Davidson Collar. My eyes were all blurry with wet tears.



Best park ever. Even came with a cat for the kids to love on.

Hold on, gotta collect myself here.

I have lived in Cedartown, in the Cedar House, for the entire breadth of my young motherhood. We moved in when I was eight months pregnant with Pancake. Brought my dog, Henry, into that house. He ran all over the place in our back yard.

Started labor (both times) in that house. I painted fluffy clouds and Winnie the Pooh characters on the nursery walls. Each of my kids learned how to walk in that house. Each kid had their own room, decorated with their art from school.

Each room is filled with a these buoyant memories, stuffed floor to ceiling with big, fat overblown balloons. 7 years of memories, eight years of love coating the walls, soaking into the carpet. That house, it's filled with our love. Our family love.

Hold on, gotta collect myself here.

Let's turn this ship upright shall we?

Let me make this simple.



This love is not ending. It is a bit fractured right now, but it’s still thriving.

And let me say this. Mr. Hall comes here on weekends. On Mondays, he gets up at 5.30 to make the 2 hour drive back. But not today, today he lingered. We all woke up at seven am. We are tired, sore and sunburned from such a wonderful weekend.

And while I write about clicking my heels three times, he is doing the job of seven men. All manner of drywall, carpet, rewiring, trim refinishing, all of it going on at a furious pace. All of this happening in an empty house. Without his wife and kids.

But this week he has Pancake. And more understanding from his wife. A few more days, a few more weeks, all the measurements of time are small now. We are on the edge of being back together. And then the Cedar house will be filled by another family's love. Just like we took over for the previous family.

And then our next house, oh lordy, lordy, it won't know what hit it when we bust through the doors. Our love may very well burst the seams.

9 Left a message at the beep:

Holly said...

Check it...I am not getting all mushy on you because I know you'll turn on me like a rabid dawg in a New York minute...but, but, but,

Damn...this was beautiful. It's hard to say 'goodbye' to a place that gave you part of yourself.

I love that you've loved it so much that some new family will come along and be enriched by the vibes you've left there.

That's all I'm saying. And, NO! those are not tears you see. No they're not! Leave me alone...

Bruce Johnson said...

While I understand your situtation completely, it is more numb to me. My family moved 8 times before I was 18, it got to be sort of routine. Ya See, it isn't the building that makes a home, it is the people that live inside it. In that sense, you aren't really loosing anything.

Mrs. Hall said...

Holly: your not foolin' anyone.

Bruce: Interesting word-'numb'. But yes, I TELL YOU . . . next time we get one week to pack, one week to fix things! After that screw it it is time to get get gone.

or

we move everybody, with just the clothes on our backs and then burn the other house down.

whichever is fastest!

:)

Big Pissy said...

Lovely post....and how fortunate are you all to have those memories?

{{{hugs}}}

Mrs. Hall said...

Yeah, so fortunate to have such memories.

best part.



they are still being built

:)

Mrs. Hall said...

Yeah, that's not the actual slide, but... most slides nowadays are made of plastic.

To really to get some good air, to really go fast, one needs an aluminum slide.

And long pants cause yikes!

ass burn indeed!

They just don't build them like they use to Heff, all the playgrounds now are just safe safe safe . .

Slyde said...

bruce is just a hard-ass :)


i completely understand. I have been in my home 6 years now, and they are the 6 years my son has been alive. Leaving that house, and all its memories, would really affect me..

Mrs. Hall said...

Slyde:

yeah, Bruce brings the pain!

But yes, leaving a house is really hard. Especially if it's been filled with such love. And really, part of the deal is that these kids spent the first days here. And then I start thinking about them as babies and then well

IT'S ALL OVER WITH THE NOT CRYING AND BLUBBERING

because even though they are 6 and 2, they are still my babies!

:)

Cam said...

And, don't forget, another wee one will come along, and learn to walk in your new house, and you will get to paint all the fluffy clouds, or flowers, or trains, that you can stand while waiting on their arrival!

By then, this time apart will be a distant memory! Laughs and love will fill the day, and the new house of the Tribe Called Hall!

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