The Houses That Built Me

    There were many houses that built me. As I was growing up, my sisters and I lived in many homes that our parents found for us.  Each house was different but the furniture that was moved from state to state remained the same..the living room arranged around the same old room rug that was handed down from Grandma. We always had a cat and lost many cats over the years to neighborhood dogs or neighborhood streets.  When one cat would die, and the body buried in the back yard of whatever house we lived in at that time, we would get another similar looking cat and give it the same name. Tinkerbell will always have to be a calico cat to me.
     I remember the smell of the laundry room, the smell of a hot iron and a watering bottle as we sisters had to iron our dresses every Saturday, no matter which house we were in at that time. 
     I remember the practical jokes we would play on each other and unsuspecting guests at our home.  Laughing, and crying, and being angry at some unjust decision. 
I never thought much about the vessel that served as home, the frame that held the thriving family organism, until I became a first time homeowner wannabe with my husband.  The past homes in my life influenced everything we looked at. It was exciting looking for a kitchen that would hold a table that sat 8, a bathroom large enough for five girls and parents; a backyard with a flower garden, tomato garden and a rose trellis like I always had.

   Now years later, I love drawing floor plans for the perfect "family" home, and have the occupation of selling homes for a living. I recognize the emotional drive that causes first time homeowners to crave a place of their own so they can mark growth lines on the closet doorframe of their future children, recreating in their dreams a house just like the house that built them.  No matter what the economy is doing or what wisdom there is in making a real estate "investment", there will always be a hunger for a place to call their own.  Whether it is a mobile home, a mansion, or a grass roofed shack, most people want something that they can settle in and make memories that last.  All children will remember fondly the house or apartment they grew up in if it was a secure and happy place. 

    My love for homes, families, laughing babies and flower gardens has shaped my attitude towards selling houses in this market.  Yes, it is a tough market right now, but that old house that has been on the market for months, with short sale on the lawn sign, is worth rescuing for another generation of happy memories. 

    I am not sure whether it was this video by Miranda Lambert or my thoughts about home memories that came first. Doesn't matter really. Enjoy the video. 



    I have seen, many times, that look in the eyes of  home buyers as they tour a house that they know they must have.  It isn't usually a practical reason why they feel so strongly for the house.  It is usually an emotional response to a memory of a similar house or room from a happy or nostalgic time in their past.  There is a home for everyone who really wants one of their own.  I believe that.  It is worth every effort that needs to be made to find it. Could this be your time to find a house that will build your family? 

Ruth Parker, Realtor, Keller Williams Realty Midway
Http://Ruth-Parker.net