Cluttered?

Tiny. Minuscule. Full to the brim. Stuffed? Overdone. Uh huh. I know that these terms were used when we tried to sell our house a year ago. Bill was working in Virginia and we had decided to go there and join him. I say this with all sincerity, thank goodness it did NOT sell! A few months after that difficult decision TO move was made, Bill was offered the job here and we are all thrilled that we would stay put. Rabbit Run Cottage remained in our family as it should be. So, some say our home is cluttered. Hmmm....I say "cozy". Okay, so I would love to have a few more square feet in the living room but hey. It's ours, it keeps us warm and dry, safe and sheltered and I love it. The living room couch is down filled and so soft to sink into. The perfect spot for movie viewing and cuddling. And we are surrounded with things that mean so much to us. Treasures bright home from our travels and from the many places where we have lived. Each item contains a story patiently awaiting an audience. We have bathrooms and a kitchen in which to cook and beds in which to sleep. What else could we possibly need? I have a list 436 miles long of things that I want to add to this home or change about this sweet place. Still, it IS home in every sense of the word. Children run in and out of the back door, banging it each time they enter and leave. Dogs drool and cats shed. Friends leave muddy footprints in the foyer and husbands toss their coats across the kitchen table. Sometimes those lovely sofa pillows are used to further the fine art of fort constructing and trampoline practice. Showers have been given for new babies and brides. Birthday parties have been thrown for the very young and the, well, not so young. This cottage has listened to gales of laughter and sharp cries of sorrow. Sweet words of love and grumpy morning quarrels. Baby's wails and dogs that howl. Newspapers have been strewn about, lamp shades knocked askew. Puppy nose prints have been left on the windows along with little girl's condensation art. Stray weeds pop up in the yard and grass pushes it's way into the brick walk cracks. Dishwashers have overflowed and bathroom drains clogged. Our home has smelled of cinnamon, cabbage, pizza baking, coffee brewing and fresh paint. It has weathered a tornado, flooding rains, high winds, blizzards, jungle heat and arctic cold. It is, in short, a home. In every sense of the word.