Tuesday, April 10, 2012

selling the house

we moved into this house when my son was 15 months old. we painted the walls, pulled up the carpet, redid the grout. worried about his little legs running faster than his balance knew how to as he looped from hardwood to tile and back again. installed baby gates at the top and bottom of the stairs, put locks and childproof knobs and plug covers everywhere. he slept in a crib. we put up the swing set for his second birthday; he still used the baby swing; he played in the sandbox underneath. he moved to his big boy bed, then yet an even bigger bed. he became attached to his quilt. we got furniture, we got rid of furniture. we stuffed a blanket in between the doors leading to the deck during our first winter because the gap between them was so wide that snow blew into our kitchen. we painted the front door; quite badly. we replaced a garage door. we put in a new fan. we got a new tv, we bought gym equipment. we bought a new door and replaced the door leading to the deck. we installed a whole house humidifier. we put in landscaping and redid the cracked path leading to the front door. i started a garden and we all marveled at the first tomato, the first broccoli, the fresh herbs, the papers, the watermelons. i bought my son  gardening tools to match mine, i let him paint the fence posts surrounding the garden. we drew chalk pictures up and down the driveway; he roller skated in the carpet. we threw Frisbee and watched our dog chase rabbits. i planted bulbs and pulled weeds. we had spiral trees. we had birthday parties and water balloons and slip and slides. we listened to peeper frogs and shoveled the driveway. we decorated for Halloween and decorated for Christmas. we had easter eggs hunts and ate outside. my son learned to walk up a hill and to roll down one. he learned to throw a ball and swing a golf club. we built snowmen and made angels. we laid in the grass and imagined what we saw in the clouds. i pushed his stroller around the neighborhood. he went to preschool, to kindergarten, to second grade. he lost baby teeth and started orthodontic work. he learned to read and played video games. he learned to feed himself and stopped sitting in a high chair. he learned to throw his clothes in the hamper and make his bed. he first saw television and now watches too much. we blew bubbles and identified flowers. he had sleepovers. we watched butterflies hatch and caught lightening bugs.he learned how to go up and down stairs. he was thankful for the fan and lined up the vacuum cleaners. he helped mommy clean with his own dust rag and pretend hoover. we did legos and played trains and read stories. he ran and dreamed.he played drums and zingo and colored and painted. he had a big wheel. we built dragons and houses. he asked if he could go play with his friends; if he could have his friends over; he said he was bored. he wears a a size 2 shoe. he took art classes and cooking classes and theater classes. he went to bug camp and swim class and to the lake. he outgrew his green and purple chairs from ikea. we built bookshelves to hold all his lego creations. i threw out his child gardening tools and sold the clothes he outgrew. we donated his baby toys. we made cupcakes and cookies and decorated them sloppily and laughed and ate them anyway. i slept in his bed when he had a bad dream, we took him to the emergency room when he had the croup. we stood in the cold night air until he stopped coughing. he ate popsicles when he had strep throat and got on kicks of oap and eggs and grilled cheese with spinach and smoothies and picked broccoli from the garden and ate it like it was a giant ice cream cone. he learned to write and filled the house with pages of i love yous and showed me how to use the camera on my iphone.