Have you ever had a feeling something was meant to be despite appearances? My husband and I bought a second home in the country seven years ago. We traveled down a dirt path which led to a fork in the road and view of a soybean field.
To the left was a private tree-lined dirt path which used to be an old railroad track. At the end of the quarter-mile drive sat a house. The house was nestled in the woods with no other houses in sight except those created by nature.
In front of the house sat a huge deck. A little dock hovered over a pond stocked with fish and on occasion black snakes, and turtles. There was also a period of time where two muskrats decided to call the pond home. The minute I traveled down the tree-lined path I felt transported to my childhood home in Pennsylvania. I was sold on the home before I even entered it due to the peacefulness and natural beauty of the property.
The home needed some work and the woman who lived in it was a smoker. The house reeked of smoke and yet surprisingly I didn’t seem to care. My husband looked at me in bewilderment as I oohed and aahed over things. He was quietly thinking, “Is she seeing what I’m seeing?”
He saw a lot of time, work and money. I saw blooming flowers and trees and peaceful tranquilly. The older couple who lived in the house built it 15 years ago and shared stories with us of every little detail.
There was a swing he made for his wife on one of their anniversaries, a path he had cleared out to walk or ride ATV’s in the several acres of woods behind the house and a little wooden hut they called the sweat lodge.
My son who was 12 at the time called it his dream home. My husband was in disbelief. He thought the property was special, but wasn’t as swept away emotionally as my son and I. My daughter’s only concern was whether we could get cable TV.
In the end the house was meant to be. Everything fell into place from the remodeling of the inside of the home to the final sale of the home this past week.
My husband was right. It was a lot of work, but I was also right. It was a special place and it gave us a lot of great memories. Seven is a perfect number and it was time to let someone else make their memories at this special place.
Goodnight little house in the big woods.
Linking to: Celebrate Your Story
This house is adorable. What great memories you will have. I love the picture at Christmas, I am sure there are some Christmas/ holiday memories and stories you will share for years to come.
Thanks Kim! We spent a lot of holidays there with family and have some great memories. For a few years we were able to put lights on the house and it was so pretty. Then the darn squirrels chewed the wires every time we would hang lights. The squirrels also liked to chew on the wood shingles despite having tons of tress to chew on. To this day I have a major dislike for squirrels.
I always loved that house, because as a country girl myself, I could so relate to the setting. Whoever was lucky enough to buy it from you just got a gem. They are so lucky you were the previous owners as I know you made it beautiful. Now when are you buying that beach house you always said was next? 🙂
Thanks Shelley. The couple that purchased it are living there full time. She is an interior decorator so I’d actually love to see what they do with the place. It really needs someone to take care of it full time. The beach house is on hold for now, but I definitely see it in my future 🙂
What a great post! I was completely brought to tears, so many wonderful memories I will always treasure. The best being the time we spent together talking in the lounges on the deck while the gang put on the firework display. I’ll have to say…everyone was in their “happy place”. On another note…Chandler will never live down the swamp story. Makes me laugh every time! Thanks for the memories 🙂
It was fun going through all of the old Fourth of July pictures. I will definitely have to put some sort of scrapbook together one of these days. Tell Chandler the swamp has been pumped out 🙂 for the new owners. I brought the lounge chairs home so we still have a place to sit and chat without worrying about kids getting burned by fireworks!
What a special place!
Oh my, it is a beautiful home. Selling it must have been a little hard…to say goodbye to that wonderful, peaceful spot. Are you planning on another ‘second’ home somewhere now? I wish we had the freedom to do a beach house, alas, our new home that I am still working on (and will be for years) and the high rise condo which is a landing space when we have to be up in Ohio. Thanks for sharing this wonderful dream home. I would love it if you would come by and share this great story at Celebrate Your Story! link party. I am sorry we didn’t get together in Florida this Winter, maybe next!
It was a little hard, but the timing was right Chloe. No plans for another home right now. Owning more than one home sounds fun, but as I’m sure you know it can be a lot of work. I would be happy to share it at your link party.
Wonderful girls trip memories 🙂
Most definitely Mary! I wish I had done more.
A beautiful tribute to an absolutely lovely place!
Thanks Anne! It was fun looking back at all of my old pictures. There were a few parties/ideas I never got around to doing, but we had a lot of good times there.
Beautiful post, we had some fun nights in that house, thanks for sharing your happy place.
Yes we did! Glad you could be a part of them. Lots of laughs!
Love the nighttime picture. It is adorable at night too!
I can see what a special place this home is. So remote and peaceful… and you did a wonderful job with the decorating. I bet it is hard to say goodbye, but knowing someone else will move in and love it always makes it easier to let go of things!
Thanks Seana! It surprisingly came together pretty quickly, but I had help.
What a beautiful post about your home. Your children will remember those wonderful years as well. Your family made your home so inviting.
Thanks Keri! We have lots of great memories there. I need to put all of my pictures in a scrapbook.