Home Sweet Home

We got a kitty yesterday, or so Jake tells me, I haven't seen him yet. 

Little Paul was nervous when Jake brought him home from the animal shelter. He headed straight downstairs to the laundry room. I spent a few hours sitting at the bottom of the stairs by his new food and water bowls waiting for him to come out from behind the washer and drier. No luck. I was kind of frustrated. What’s with this cat! I am so nice! His new home is so great! I feel for him though. Right after getting married I felt a lot like little Paul the kitty. In fact, if I could have fit, I probably would have hid behind the washer and drier too.  

One of the toughest aspects of being a newlywed for me is homesickness. Getting married has all kinds of transitions. After the honeymoon and getting Jake moved into the house, I waited for things to settle down a little bit. They did, but I sill felt like a visitor in my own house. Surrounded by crock-pots and dish towels I didn't pick out, new responsibilities, and a new roommate, I just felt a little unfamiliar with home. So our first project as Mr. and Mrs. Topham was making our little Main Street house feel like home. My first effort? I bought silverware. 

TJ Maxx had exactly what I wanted. So I bought the silverware, opened the packaging, cleaned out a drawer, and put each piece in carefully. 

Jake and I made an effort to eat together at our own kitchen table with our own silverware like you do at "home". 

That was the strategy: What does "home" actually mean, and how can we make our little house feel like that? I'm lucky, Jake is an expert.

So we did home things. We cleaned, moved furniture, and put up our own pictures on the walls. I put our books on the bookshelf. My sister Shelbey painted a watercolor of our house. We put it up in the living room. Before I knew it, I felt at home. We both do. We still do home things. We use our silverware every day. We talk nice to each other and laugh. As Jake and I grow closer together, we're happier at home. All I needed was some copper silverware and a patient husband. I'm happy at home. So happy. Paul will be too. I think I'll spend some time on the stairs today, maybe talk to him about how happy my little wife life is. 

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