A house my friends built

Photo by Sean D

When I first met my daughter, I didn’t wonder much who she’d be, I was just happy to see her. Truth be told, it’s hard to imagine her as a lawyer or a teacher— right now she looks more like an alien (a cute one).

It’s fun to dream but so much changes by the time we’re adults you wonder if it’s even worth trying to guess.

For instance, I never thought I’d live in a subdivision. But the first house that’s ever had my name in the title is in one. It’s not as bad as I thought and there’s a Weigel’s within rock throwing distance.

One day I was in that Weigel’s and I got ambushed.

Miranda Lambert’s “House That Built Me” came on and that’s not fair. I have to be prepared for that song. I grew up in a house kinda like that and the song hits home. I didn’t want to be crying as I paid for my Dr. Pepper Zero.

I’m sad to say the song makes me think less of the house I bought. There’s not much that distinguishes it from the ones around it — a one story, three bedroom home with a bay window on the side. Some have the garage on the right, ours is on the left. Some are white, some are blue, mine is sorta gray.

Step inside my house, and you’ll see the walls painted “cottage white” according to the Home Depot color schema. But that particular wall on your left was painted by my friends Grace and Jim who accepted payment in the form of Snappy Tomato pizza. I remember that night wondering if they’d be getting engaged soon — then Grace said something about getting married which made Jim smile and Emily and I knew.

The floors are chestnut brown hardwood and had to be individually glued down. When I see them I see my friend Joel’s precise first row he did against the wall while teaching me, my wife and my sister-in-law how to do it. His pregnant wife Joanne looked on and that was the night Joel let slip what they were going to name their boy. Another night Joel and Joanne came over to put more floor down but we’d just found out we’d be having one of our own (unplanned) and we didn’t feel like putting any floor down — we just needed to talk to someone and get burgers.

My daughter’s bedroom in the back is painted “cocoa” but looks a little more pink. Our friends Mary and Tyler painted it as a gift when we found out Emily was pregnant. I remember setting up a TV on the floor so they (we) could watch the Bachelor while they (we) worked. Now they’re about to have one of their own and I guess I’ll go paint a room in their house (but I’m terrible at it so maybe I’ll just offer to mow their lawn).

My friend Christian primed the walls in my office, our small group put down the floor in there, my wife’s parents painted our bathroom and that doesn’t even get into the furniture given by family, refinished by my sister-in-law Anna Beth or broken in over my wife’s cooking.

So my house is in a subdivision and it doesn’t look that much different from the ones around it. But the first house my daughter knows will be a house that was built by me, my wife, our family and our friends. And she will be too.