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Write about a disappointment. Were you the one who
felt it, or someone you cared about was disappointed? How did it make you feel?Haven't we all had many disappointments in our life? Promotions or jobs passed over or maybe missing out on a special event because of illness, are part of life. One disappointment though I think about from time to time is our failed bid on my then dream home. We were late to get an offer in, and another families was accepted just moments before the seller saw ours.
I sometimes imagine that we would still be living there, twenty eight years later, though more than likely after three kids it would have been thought to be too small. It was a small dutch colonial, barn looking house with built in cabinets int he dining room, old plumbing, and creeky stairs. It was cute and charming and no doubt would have been a money pit. It was also a house I had imagined living in, raising my children, with a dog curled up by the fire place. It had a single bathroom upstairs, and an old kitchen, ready to have paint and cute curtains. The whole house was hard wood, as house built at the turn of the 20th century were. It was in our price range, and I would have spent the summer before we got married making it our own.
We ended up buying another quaint, even tinier house. It too was old and a fixer upper, and provided a an affordable, if not cramped space to live for three years. We sold it for a tidy profit, which allowed us to buy the house we are still in today. While it was cute, it did not have the custom features of my dutch colonial. I didn't feel too nostalgic moving on. it was a house. It was a good house, and we made it our home for those brief years, but I didn't have a heart longing affinity for it as I would have with the one we lost.
Years later the Dutch Colonial was featured in the little local paper in a segment, "I've always wondered about...". Here the couple that had won the bid before ours was interviewed, showing all their efforts in maintaining the home, and keeping it true to it's origins. I was happy to learn that the house found owners that lived it and cared for it as I imagined I would have. I still think,if they ever sold it, I would take another look. the house would be impractical now. I sometimes drive by it, as it is near a friend of my daughters house. I smile and say hello, and silently wish the owners well.
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I loved this story! You relationship with your dream house still continue after many years of the initial disappointment. It does sound charming and very special. I also love old houses - they have heart. Maybe you'll reconnect with your dream again! Think of placing one of your characters there... what stories they would tell from that house? :)
ReplyDeleteI feel a little stalkeress sometimes, slowing down when I drive by,looking at it. That is a wonderful idea to use it as a "character" in a story. I would have never thought of that! I haven't started this months short story, so perhaps she will make an appearance. I don't know why I refer to houses as "she", but I do.
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