My Mother’s House

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Coming home to familiarity is a gift I hold close to heart. My mother's hand is creative, nothing is for not, everything has a place: The glass sugar bowl in the cupboard on the bottom shelf to the right, the curtain made of hand brooms above the kitchen sink, the wound-up clock ticking so loudly that I can hear it at night in my bedroom (such an old friend), the old photos such as the one of my Great Grand-Father, my Grandparent's wedding portrait, my niece's and nephew's baby photos framed on the wall…

These bits and pieces cause a rush of well being, connecting me to my childhood the moment I walk in.

I am grateful that things do not change.

 

 

 

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The kitchen is the center of the house, next to the back door which has been the front door to those who know us.

A few million cookies have been made at that counter. In the fridge there is a pink almond-rocco can that my mother fills steadily, rarely is it empty.

Snickerdoodles, chocolate chips, peanut butter, oatmeal, chocolate mounds…

 

 

 

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When a happy home has been in the same place for over fifty years there is something sacred, something sweet, something beyond words that maybe can only be known by those who have experienced the same thing:

Life's moments small, silly, serious, tearful, enduring…

We moved to this home when I was five. 

A cabin that was slowly enlarged.

 

Those bricks, one by one were collected when our old town was sadly knocked down. My mother scrapped the old mortar off each one of them.

 

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My mother love's a country look.

 

 

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She stained that ceiling by herself when I was fourteen.

 

 

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A simple home with a big heart and soul.

 

 

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 Home. Hearth. Happiness. 

Well being.

Ah.

Tell me about your childhood home?



Comments

14 responses to “My Mother’s House”

  1. Diogenes

    Corey, your mom has great taste. She definitely has an eye for how to put things together artfully.

  2. Your mom’s home looks soooo comfortable and just lovely. No wonder everyone likes to congregate there. I lived in several homes throughout my growing days. My mom was a very sparse housekeeper. It was always clean, but very simple and few things in it.

  3. Love all the warm details in your childhood home. What a lovely family nest.
    My family lived in the same house that I was born into for over 50 years and it was sold after my father died. We went by not long ago and it was nice to see a toddler’s toy car in the backyard. The house has kids again!

  4. Not my family home. It would be the home of my beloved Aunty Bertha and her family. Grandma lived with them and we celebrated every holiday meal there. So many wonderful memories. Aunty was creative and knew how to make a house a home,just like your mother does. Love the whisk broom ” curtain ”

  5. RebeccaNYC

    You are very lucky to have had the same family home all your life. I don’t have those kind of memories, so perhaps that is why every move I have made as an adult (there have been many, and we are preparing for another one soon) is heartbreaking to me. I don’t have a sense of where “home” is. When people ask me where I come from, it takes me a while to answer. But I am reminded of a song I love…
    There’s nowhere that I wouldn’t follow
    There’s nothing that I won’t do for your kiss
    I love you like there’s no tomorrow
    ‘Cause nothing ever felt like this
    There’s nothing I won’t steal or borrow
    I’ll travel on a boat or airplane
    I’ll explore a world of sorrow
    ‘Cause when I find you I know, I know I’ma be OK
    See the times are changing
    And I’m sure of nothing that I know
    Except this is us, and this is love, and this is where I’m home
    In a world that’s breaking, where nothing is for keeps
    Oh this is us, this is love and this is where I sleep
    This is us, this is love and this is where I sleep
    I’m from a generation undecided
    I’m restless and I can’t help changing lanes
    But in all the noise and the excitement,
    Your love is all that will remain
    I’ve said all of my goodbyes to ego
    I gambled all I got, there’s no plan B
    It’s the first time that I’ve learnt to let go
    It’s the only place I feel, only place I feel like me
    See the times are changing
    I’m sure of nothing that I know
    Except this is us and this is love, and this is where I’m home
    In a world that’s breaking, where nothing is for keeps
    Oh this is us, this is love and this is where I sleep
    Emeli Sande / Shahid Khan
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isRaY4bnzko

  6. Jacklynn Lantry

    I see you in your mom’s design style. Your mom has an amazing “eye.” Does she really cook on that antique stove or is it a decoration? Last question, Can I come over?
    🙂 have fun my friend:)

  7. Good post Corey. The constant in your Mothers home more so than the furnishings, is the love. Sleep well.

  8. Ann of Avondale

    Your mom has created a Home Sweet Home. I remember our hardwood floors and polishing them frequently. We had a lot of company and I would serve friends and relatives coffee and cookies set up on a large tray. Mostly I remember our large backyard with big trees where we attempted to build a tree house. We spent a lot of time outdoors.

  9. Ever visit home to see my Dad I think of how fortunate I am to return to the home I was raised in. Knowing it won’t always be. xoxo

  10. I love the story of the bricks.
    My mother collected bricks from all over the place to put in her garden. Her brick paths and patios drove my dad and brothers crazy when it was time to mow the grass.

  11. Reading your article brought back so many cherished memories…thank you. Yes, our house (3 siblings + parents) was a modest house, but in later years revisiting, it appeared even smaller than I had imagined. One bathroom sufficed which was normal back in the 50’s. My Mother took great pride in her decor & cleanliness. We had a finished basement that was perfect for the kids in the winter and a huge backyard that was the summer hang-out. Big dinners where the grandparents, aunts, uncles & cousins would gather. Over the years this sadly dissipated, but I can still picture them & cherish the memories thanks to my loving parents.

  12. msabshin@megahits.com

    Corey, though I have followed you for ages I write you now for the first time. The memories of your family home and your Dad encourage me to share a little of mine. I believe we have some things in common. My Dad passed away in in 2006 in Southern California where he was born and raised. The family business was called E. L. Payne Heating Company just off the corner of Van Nuys Blvd and Burbank Blvd in the valley. They lived in only 2 homes, the first my childhood home for over 30 years. My Dad had a workshop and was always working on something. He was a great gardener, fly fisherman and chef, all hobbies, and could repair anything. His did not have motorcycles but he and my 3 brothers were always building some contraption. My Dad had a workshop much like your Dads. I loved the smell of it. My Mom loved her home and like your Mom had many collections and I being the daughter inherited many of them. i have lived in Connecticut for 25 years now but when I go home to see my siblings i drive by my family home and all the familiar places that are there. My parents are gone now but everything still feels the same when I’m back in my neighborhood. I believe your Dad died around the same time mine did. Thank you for sharing your family home and memories. I do travel to France every year. Usually Paris and then Uzes in the south. I know I would would recognize you on the street if I saw you. Maybe one day I will.

  13. Oh Corey. Your post and photos made me cry. But tears of wonderful, beautiful memories. My mother’s home looked so much like your mothers. The same family photos, the antiques she started collecting back in the early 1960’s. All so familiar and comforting. I also cry because they are now my memories as my mom passed onto heaven at age 97! What a blessing, though, as she was happy and very active all those years. My brother and I had such beautiful memories of our childhood home and you brought that back to me today! I think of you and your mom every time I pass through your town on my way up north. Thank you and Bless you and your wonderful family.

  14. I remember your mother’s house well. It is a comforting place.

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