Slice of Life Story Challenge - Day 1 - The Lot

It's the beginning of the March Slice of Life Story Challenge!  My goal is to post every day in March.  This will not be easy since my spring break falls in March, and I'm in the middle of a move; however, I've made it the last two years, so I don't want to stop now.  My students will also be participating in the March Slice of Life Classroom Challenge.

 

For the last two years of the March SOLCC, I chose a theme topic to write around; I found it easier to think of things to write.  My first year, I wrote around childhood memories, and last year I wrote around Things I Know for Sure.  This year, since our house is under contract, I'm going to write a goodbye letter of sorts.  We've lived in this house for a little over 11 years, and even though we're excited to downsize into a condo nearby, which sits on the corner of a small, beautiful lake, this house has blessed us with many memories, and I want to preserve them.

 

 

     These pictures were taken in August 2004 before we started building.  I love looking back at these because we were some of the first people to build in our neighborhood, so it's amazing to see it all bare and new!  I wrote about our moves in one of last year's SOLSC posts, in case you want the background of how and why we moved to Lebanon, OH.

 

     Choosing a lot, a house design (by Ryan Homes), and all its decorating choices was exciting. We looked at several different locations and neighborhoods, but Ryan Homes had a great house model, and the lot we chose was at the end of a culdesac with plenty of trees in the back.  The woods would provide beauty, privacy, and a place for a variety of birds (which I love).  The location was convenient, and we liked the 1+ acre lots in the neighborhood.

 

     However, there was stress, too!  We had to live in a small apartment for about 4 months while our house was being built, and I went back to teaching that August after an eight year hiatus as a stay-at-home mom.  Ed was still traveling back to Pittsburgh for work, and we had two young girls (6th grade and 3rd grade at the time) who had ambivalent feelings about moving back to our hometown area, a dog, and a cat!  The great thing, though, was that I had my long-time friends to help us through the transition, and we were closer to family again.  Even though we had loved Pittsburgh, it was good to be home.  We were embarking on yet another grand adventure!