To Dream the American Dream... of Hearth and Home and a good credit rating

Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop
This week's prompt is to "Describe your dream home...house, location and grounds.

This is the letter I wrote to tell prospective buyers about our house when it was on the market last year. I was hoping someone would understand how much more than just a building it is, how much living within it's walls meant to us, that it has been our Dream Home for 15 years

Welcome to Our House ...



Fifteen years ago we built this house and have spent those years living and loving within it's walls.

We have celebrated the births of our 3 youngest children, graduations from preschool through to high school and college, engagements and weddings, and the arrival of our 1st grandchild here.

This house has offered sanctuary to family and friends in times of need and has played host for pool parties, baby showers and wedding showers for family and friends, and friends of friends.

The state park that backs to the property supports wild life from white tail deer, red fox and rabbits to red tail hawks, owls and bald eagles.

Often, we sat at the breakfast table and watched deer graze on the clover in the yard before starting our busy day; been delighted by the families of young bunnies and fledgling birds as they learned to run and fly outside our window.

We enjoyed the sweet scent of the honeysuckle and wisteria growing along the fence, the wild magnolia that blooms in our woods from mid-June to mid July giving way to the heady scent from the wild butterfly bushes that bloom through the month of August.

Our gardens and feeders are visited by hummingbirds and butterflies from as far away as the southern tip of South America and the northern most parts of Canada.

Our house is more than a house.
It is a HOME.

Love, laughter, and living have been the heart of our home and we hope it will be the heart of yours for many years to come.

Doing Hard Time... Again!

Day 2 of manual labor will be starting for my troublesome TeenBoy in just a few hours.

Will he ever learn?

I doubt it.

He is not a bad kid. Or even a mischievous kid. He is more of a 'do my own thing' kid, and unfortunately when you're 14, this can be a BIG problem.

I keep telling him it will be easier once he gets to high school and can take harder, and more interesting classes.

And it will be even better when he gets to college and meets other kids with similar interests and intellects and has classes even more challenging.

"Yes", he says. "I know", he says. "I'll do my homework", he says. "I understand", he says.

And that's just it. He does understand. Perhaps more than a teen boy should.
And because he understands I see him trying to change his behavior, and his SELF.

I love him the way he is... stubborn, opinionated ( can't imagine where he gets that?) and confrontational. He just has to learn to moderate himself, and to use his power for good not evil.

That's my son...

TeenBoy, the superhero champion of science and technology Geeks!

In Anime, of course... and without the cape and tights!

And only AFTER he finishes doing his time...

Don't Bite Off More Than You Can Chew and other things They say...

Tis the Season to be Jolly... Well, that's what 'THEY' say.

And who exactly are 'They', anyway?

'They' can be anyone. People you know, people you don't know, people you don't ever want to know... so WHY would you listen to 'They' in the first place?

I certainly do not know the answer to that question. Does anyone?

I think 'They' are the ones who made the rules like "no elbows on the table" and "pink and red don't go together" and "no wearing white after Labor Day".

What if I NEED to put my elbows on the table because I drank too much wine and am about to fall of my chair and my elbows are the only thing keeping the room from spinning me like a top? Hmmmm... ?

Or what if I LIKE the way pink and red look together, or red and purple for that matter? Pink and red ARE in the same color family so why can't they be together? I mean, if brown can be the new black and pink the new white and it seems acceptable to put them together...? Brown and pink is a hideously disgusting combination in my opinion but 'They' say it is hip and trendy... I think 'They' must be color-blind... or have a seriously f'd up sense of humor!

And what about this no white after Labor Day thing?
Really? I'm a nurse and , well duh!, white is what we wear... and do white tennis shoes or sneakers not count? Cuz I definitely see white shoes all year long. And white t-shirts. And what about winter white? It's right there in the name- Winter White- so it must be okay for after Labor Day since that would be the 'Winter Season', right?

'They' say the unemployment numbers will get better, and 'They' say the housing market is starting to pick up, and 'They' say the economy is not as bad as we ( meaning the not 'They' people) think it is, and 'They' say we are only in a Recession, not a Depression... well this Recession is pretty depressing to me so I don't really see a difference, do you?

Just once I would like to see someone interview 'They' on TV. I think it would look a lot like a PC vs MAC commercial.


Interviewer- How nice to FINALLY have 'They' here in studio.
'THEY'- Well, you know what 'They' say don't you?
Interviewer- No, actually, what do you say? Any words of wisdom?
'THEY'- Never ask questions you don't already know the answer to... and as 'They' say... don't take any wooden nickels!



Interviewer will be left standing in an empty space where 'They' have just left the building thinking, "WTF?'They' say the dumbest things, don't 'They'?"

'They' certainly seem to have the last word in just about everything...
I am sure 'They' were the ones shaking their heads, as they set sail, while Mt Vesuvius was still burping and hiccuping clouds of smoke and sulphur, saying things like, " You can't take it with you" and "some people never learn!"

And like 'They' always say... " love your neighbor as yourself...".
Okay you got me there, 'They' have never been touted as the brain behind that sentiment but the 'ONE' that has, well, HE's got my vote over the ever-elusive 'They' anyday!

And don't forget... it IS the Season to be JOLLY... but only if YOU say so!