Dear homeowner,

It’s been one week since the closing and I wonder…

Have you decorated? Re-painted? Have you filled your garbage with junk mail addressed to the Mode’s and disposed of the old camping gear in the basement? Are your vehicles tucked safely in the garage or is that where the boxes are currently living?

Its hard to imagine you nesting

It’s hard to imagine you nesting; filling the cabinets and closets with things that are foreign. You see, we never wanted to leave Ludlow, it was just starting to become a home. Regardless, I digress. Here are some things you should know about life at Ludlow:

You’re Welcome.

When we bought Ludlow there wasn’t much to be desired. The bathrooms were busted, the basement was dark and moldy, and the back “porch” was a tinny, screened-in, tin-roofed eye sore. I wasn’t impressed but my husband saw potential. He saw a blank canvas; a place to unleash his inner creative monster.

You moved into a turnkey home but when we moved in it was a chaotic construction zone – one that demanded our time, energy and sometimes our sanity. We demolished and sheet rocked, tiled and plumed. We re-wired, landscaped and painted, painted, painted. Sometimes we bickered like children, other times we were too tired to speak. We spent evenings in our workboots and weekends at the Home Depot.

My point is this; when you find something that wasn’t done perfectly – and trust me you will – try to imagine a newly married couple doing their best. Imagine us covered in cement dust and paint, up to our elbows in Mastic. The thought of a beautifully updated home fueling our fire.

He saw a blank canvas; a place to unleash his inner creative monster

Hauntless.

Maybe I’m just crazy but I’ve always had an irrational fear of homes that go bump in the night. Rest assured, Ludlow is not one of them. There is an erie creek in the floorboards in front of the hall closet so be fore-warned. It took me six weeks to figure that out.

The Access Panel.

That random, seemingly pointless access panel in the dining room used to be home to a cheap air conditioner. It was one of the few things that wasn’t broken when we moved in and when it finally quit mid-summer, we were too broke to replace it. My husband took special care insulating the area and designed an access panel for easy, future installation of a new unit.

Hidden Treasure.

You’ll probably find a plethora of tennis balls, half-destroyed stuffed animals and Nyla Bones in the backyard. It’s a dog-friendly neighborhood and while most of those toys belonged to our two- and four-year-old lab mixes, I can’t say whether or not some were left by the Germusky’s next door.

*Germusky (German Shepherd / Husky)

Feels.

One thing I’ve learned through our brief stint as homeowners is that the term “home is where the heart is” is misguided and inaccurate. My heart is actively beating in South Florida and yet the sale of Ludlow made me catch my breath. No, home is not where the heart is, home is a string of c o m p l e x emotions cultivated by an array of familiar experiences spanning like time and space.

Home is a string of complex emotions…

My wish for you is simple, that Ludlow will bless you and yours far beyond expectation. That each memory will soften her stiff walls and overpower her unfamiliar sounds. That any remnant of others dissolves quickly leaving behind nothing but potential for new beginnings.

Sincerely,
Seller

Stay humble, stay focused, and make no small plans.

Photo by Scott Webb on Unsplash