My children have shiny houses. Saige’s is pink. Garrett’s is blue, except when it’s green. Quinn’s is yellow. I’m sure Nate will pick a color in the near future.
I don’t know how it started Maybe I said something obnoxious like, when you have your own house, you can do what you like there. Maybe they came up with it on their own. No idea, but I love it. Whenever the shiny houses come up, I get such insight into their thoughts and their dreams, into what has caught their attention or their eye.
At my pink shiny house, I have fifteen bathing suits. Like Ila, did you like her new bathing suit? MORE than Ila.
At my blue shiny house, I have one hundred animals. Like the Cratt brothers? Yes! Do you have a cougar? Yes. And I just got a jaguar.
Sometimes, it hurts a little, though I’m glad to learn the lesson.
At my pink shiny house my other mother lets me set the picnic table all by myself.
At my yellow shiny house, I can take the cold thing to bed for my owies.
What color is your shiny house, they ask me. Brown. NO! The horror is unanimous. Purple? Red perhaps? Dark blue is nice? Not brown, momma, use your imagination. But my shiny house, I am sorry to disappoint them, is brown. A light mocha brown with deep chocolate accents and cream trim.
What happens at your brown shiny house, momma? Sigh.
At my brown shiny house, I have a maid, four nannies and a chef.
At my brown shiny house, I have a dog trainer.
At my brown shiny house, I have a laundress. Her only job is to do the laundry.
At my brown shiny house, I have a writing studio. It’s on the south side of the house, so plenty of sunshine seeps in.
At my brown shiny house, children sleep until 8:00 a.m.
At my brown shiny house, there are always vodka tonics at five, with fresh squeezed lime, like Elizabeth makes them. There is a bartender. His name is Gabriel.
At my brown shiny house, there is a work shop far from the main house where Matt parks all of his 1972 Fords. He has as many as he wants.
At my brown shiny house, parking lots are not allowed in residential neighborhoods and city planning people do their jobs.
At my brown shiny house, someone else does the grocery shopping. He always buys Cambozola cheese and Giesen Sauvignon Blanc.
At my brown shiny house, there are six children and not a drop of trouble or angst or worry went into procuring the last two.
At my brown shiny house, a hairdresser straightens my hair every morning. It never looks like a sponge.
I could do this all day. Seriously. What color is your shiny house? What happens there?
My son can't wait until we die and he lives in is own house so he can eat candy all the time. I tell him we don't have to be dead for this to happen, he just has to be 18.
My shiny house is, in fact, purple (your kids have excellent taste) and is a lot like yours, except without the nannies & the other kid-centric needs.
Except when my chauffeur, Charles, brings by each of my friends with *their* kids for a lovely visit, then all that comes out of a secret panel in the wall so we all have the best time. :-)
I love this so much, I feel like crying lol… for your brown shiny house and for mine.
My shiny house is yellow.
Pale and warm and soft looking, inviting.
A perfect place for my children and all of the beautiful healthy children they will have .. where we along with the dog who will never die, ever .. will play and the sun will shine and no one will ever worry or be sick.
I will have a nice room with huge windows that look out over a garden full of flowers and trees and the birds, butterflies and children will gather and I can sit and watch and feel blessed.
And my husband will never worry about anything ever again… in my shiny pale yellow house.
and Chaukie, you made me laugh out loud !
My shiny house is peach-colored. It has a library full of all of the books I want to read and a cozy armchair by the window. It is home to a couple of friendly cats who clean their own litter boxes. Tiger lilies bloom in the eternal spring outside. The best part is the craft room stocked full of yarn, beads, paints and paintbrushes, where the clock never ticks. <3
Books. Yes. An entire room of books. I knew you all would give me new fantastical directions to grow.
My red shiny house is free of clutter, the laundry is always done and put away, the kitchen is always clean and there is plenty of money in the bank account (or a money tree out back). I wish for these things in my shiny red house so that I can spend more carefree time with my children.
My shiny house is yellow. It will have shelves and bins and labels and baskets and will smell like new books and school supplies and pink erasers. While it might look like a school room, there is NO school work or homework EVER in my shiny yellow house. There will be a king sized bed just for me, but I will visit others in the house when the mood to snuggle strikes.
In my shiny house, of whatever color, my husband has a personal assistant to remind him of birthdays, buy his underwear and jeans, open (correctly) random packages (bags of chips, crackers, etc.).
and yes, books, in a fabulous library with those ladders that slide across the wall (with a very heavy sound proof door which whining cannot penetrate)
This is phenomenal. My shiny house is white and never has to be repainted. My house has all the things your has (what a coincidence), plus a hair salon sink so that someone can shampoo my hair every morning before they blow it out. My house has a chef that makes healthy, yummy dinners for everyone. My house also has a personal trainer and makes sure that my workouts don't get pushed til after breakfast, after naps, after dinner, tomorrow. My house has a closetful of neverending cash so that I can spend time with my kids instead of working. And the list goes on …
My house is green, and is quiet. No one ever eats handfuls of peanut butter, and there is a whining-frequency jammer. There is definitely not anyone standing behind me playing the bongos and begging to go to the splashpad.
Also, it smells like oranges.
My shiny house is rather weather worn, being right on the beach and all. In my shiny house, the counters are clear and there's plenty of room for all of us to be together and to be apart.
When we are done with a our Legos and tape and paper plates, someone comes along to clean it up. And that someone never loses her temper or rants about the mess.
A whining frequency jammer!
On the beach!
A personal assistant!
I love you all so much.
Mine is blue. A nice, light blue. With a wrap around porch. Like the ones at the Hamptons on the beach. Or so the Internet tells me. I want it on the west coast though.
At my blue house, I have a maid, a nanny and a chef. I have no animals. I have only hard wood floor. I have a huge warm swimming pool that is always clean. I never have to clean or do laundry.
I have an office. All to myself. With shelves full of books. Huge cozy chairs. A writing nook. No clutter.
My house is on the beach. But all my best friends (you included) live on my street. There are sky chairs on the porch. There is always fresh made ice tea.
Am crying at this one…(no worries, is just what I'm doing today)..at my blue house? there are five children. Me too. No worries on how they got there. I just know I want them.
In my white shiny house, with green shutters, I sing on key. And I can dance. My dogs totally ignore my cats and chickens, and come when called.
I also have a room with walls of books, and yes, one of those ladders too.
In my white shiny house, the only projects waiting are the ones that I want to do. And I have a gardener who weeds my flowerbeds, but I plant them all and get to pick them.
my shiny has a cook, a maid, a laundress. yeah, they are all male, now that you ask.
my shiny house has a pool, it has a sewing room. no, a sewing studio.
a music room,
a library,
my shiny house has a bedroom JUST FOR ME with a huge king bed.
i love my shiny house.
In my yellow shiny house, there is a hammock hanging from every tree, over the green lawn which is mown weekly by a friendly gardener. There is also a butler who brings me and hubby tea every morning in bed, cleans the bathrooms, and then disappears until the next morning.
There is a conservatory filled with books and sunlight.
A happy family lives here.
In my shiny white house there are four kids and at least two dogs. And a personal trainer and a massuese and a chef and a slew of maids. I love this idea so much I might write my own post about it linking up to you of course. In that house there is always ice cold prosecco…in my real house there really is, and I'm going to go pour myself a glass right now. Loved this post and exercise so much!!!
I always thought my dream house would be red brick, but it's more important for me to be on the beach… and that doesn't match.
So my dream house is white with shutters (blue I think). There is a huge wrap-around porch with comfy chairs and a swing. I like to sit there with my morning coffee and watch the waves crash on the porch.
I have a room of books too. With more comfy chairs.
And a quiet room. For yoga or meditation (not that I do either, but I would in my dream house).
My house always smells like a combination of coconut and vanilla. The kitchen is yellow. I have a huge bathroom for just me. It has a huge soaker tub with jets. And a skylight.
My staff includes a chef, a personal trainer, a child-amuser, and a maid. Even though we live right on the water, there is never sand on my floors. No bugs either.
There are always fresh-cut flowers in my kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. There is always fresh fruit cut up in the fridge.
*** oh my goodness I loved doing this. Thank you!
My shiny house is bright, fresh, very clean white.
And there aren't a 4 and 5 year old fighting over a stuffed animal like I am listening to right now.
In the shiny house they get along all.of.the.time.
In my sparkling clean house….
the dogs don't bark and are perfectly trained, there is a maid outside the bathroom who cleans after every use, another maid does the dishes, there is a chef making seven different dinners so everyone is happy, the chauffeur drives the children wherever they need to go so I have more time at home, there is a man whose sole job in life is to shovel up poo as soon as the dog leaves it. In my shiny house I'll do my own laundry, but someone else will clean up the mess. Maybe two or three someones. And in my shiny house my husband will be home instead of at work 12 hours a day six days a week.
Yes, I could go on forever, too.
I absolutely LOVE this post!!! One of my now favorites!
In my RED shiny house I have a cooking, cleaning and laundry fairy! I have a husband named Justin Timberlake and sings to me ALL the time!
XOXO
In my shiny yellow house (I've always wanted a yellow house), I have unlimited funds for home decor and the children never stand on the living room sofa to look at themselves in the mirror. I have a comfortably big kitchen where everyone gathers to watch me drink wine while daddy cooks. And all developmental delays magically disappear the day before Kindergarten starts.
I think our shiny houses are twins.
In my Yellow Shiny house, The shower always has hot water and there is someone who will shave my legs and arm pits.
The counters clear themselves, and spills wipe up themselves.
Mommy is only used in a sweet positive way and not in a hard to hear I wish you'd call me something else entirely way.
oh the dreams I will dream now.
I'm loving your brown shiny house (esp. the "laundress") but srsly, don't you think the kids should sleep until 9am?
I'm afraid to let them sleep that late because their 6:30 bedtime is my favorite thing about our life in our current half-repainted-green house. And at my brown shiny house, I finish my best selling romance novel writing between 6:30 and 10:00 every evening!
Rather than take up a huge chunk of comment, I was inspired to write my own post. http://slavetothehouse.wordpress.com/2010/08/19/a-post-of-daydream/
Thanks for the inspiration!
My shiny house is dark green. We definitely have a chef and someone to do the laundry. and someone to watch the kids after school so I don't have to ask all my friends to watch them until we get home from work.
And no clutter and someone who is charge of picking up just the playroom toys.
:)
I'm moving in to that Brown Shiny House over on your corner…
I have a shiny red house….not slutty red, though. More of a deep, brick red.
In my house, projects get finished in a timely manner.
And I have more closet space.
And the mortgage is paid-in-full.
My shiny house is brick… There is definitely a Mary Poppins inside and a Jamie Oliver to make all the meals. Heck if I had those two things, I'd do all the laundry!
I get it! In your brown shiny house, you are Angelina Jolie ;-)
My shiny house is white. Inside and out. All the furniture gleams. There are lots of sparkly happy people who polish the furniture, obsessively clean the floors and disappear silently when we enter the room, reappearing only if we ring for them. They love housework, yard work and children. They cook delicious, low calorie meals and keep the fridge stocked with the best wine and cheese. Some of them maintain the garage-full of classic cars, and we never have to ask who will pet sit the menagerie of animals when we jet off for our trips abroad. We do this often, by the way, first class all the way and outside of school vacation times – we just take all the private tutors along with us… and so on …
My shiny house can be any color…probably white. Of course, it's magically clean, decorated, smells great, food always ready, fridge cleaned out daily, with clean vehicles parked in the garage and plenty of room for my 3 growing boys and all the friends and family we can stuff in for Sunday dinner. It's paid for and all maintenance/repairs done. I could spend all my time with my boys and hubby, playing games, on the swing set, in the pool. It would be lovely. But I would trade all that "shininess" for the shiny of erasing all the seizures and meds and developmental delays of my precious 11 month old baby boy #3. Cause in magic shiny houses we all perfectly healthy and well-adjusted.
Oooh, your shiny house sounds just perfect to me. I'll take one of those.
I only need one nanny, but I'll add a tutor to the staff, so s/he can homeschool my kids so they don't have to deal with staff cutbacks like this year at school (no more music class, can you believe it?!?!).
I'd also like a chauffeur and a gardener. I am happy to clean it myself, since I have the nanny to watch the kids whenever they start to frustrate me. :)
At my dark green shiny house, there are two cleaning people: one deals with clutter, and the other deals with dirt. Neither is judgmental.
There is a study lined with bookshelves and filled with deep comfy chairs for reading and a writing desk.
There is a giant self-cleaning fireplace, in front of which no one ever bickers when we play family games.
And best of all, all my dearest friends in the world live within walking distance of my shiny dark green house, and we spend our evenings walking on the beach barefoot because the beach is right out the front door.
Wait! I just read through these after I wrote mine, and apparently Issa lives in my house!! Only she painted it blue. What's that about??!?
In my gray shiny house…. I am free to be myself.
I could do this all day, too. I think my shiny house actually would be purple. I would have the maids and a chauffeur and a pool boy. I don't care what he looks like, I just want my darned pool clean all the time! Oh and a lawn guy too. My poor husband mows practically all the time.
And my library….ah, my library…that's a whole post in itself!
OMG, I love everyone else's shiny houses. The having your hair shampooed by someone else every day? Heavenly!
The details of my house aren't important, rather it's those who reside in it that are. My house has my three kids, my dog, AND my husband living there. Instead of in Iraq.
Giesen Sav Blanc! YUMS. Come to NZ and stay with me and I shall serve you many many glasses of the finest in Marlborough Savies.
At my shiny red house it is always the perfect temperature, with the sun streaming in all windows during the day regardless of the directions they face. All work and "somedays" are completed, and it is just how we want it. There is a door at the end of the hall that leads to the teleporter so I can visit my friends near and far without the hours in the car. It smells like fresh baked cookies at all times, and you can feel the love and happiness as soon as you walk in the door. Also there's a treadmill in front of the tv, that has cable, so I use it.
A gentle reminder that I need to win the lotto this weekend. Thanks!
Plus, who's to say that the cougar at the blue shiny house isn't a hot, older woman, and the jaguar isn't the car she's driving? ;)
I happen to be lucky enough that I am moving into my shiny house next weekend. There, my daughter is going to heal from reactive attachment disorder. There, my grandchildren are NOT going to have to live with me.
And there is someone whose only jobs are bathing the children and making things not smell bad.
You do realize that the color you picked is what you see when you gaze into your Starbuck's cup, right?
I kind of like your brown shiny house. Can I live with you?
ooooh, my shiny house is so colorful. like House of Blues. bottle caps and shiny things nailed everywhere. lots of hidden treasures on the walls, floors and ceilings.
messes clean themselves and laughter reigns.
my shiny house has dozens of guests rooms so all my friends and family can stay for as long as they'd like. and there is always food and drink ready. calories do NOT count in my shiny house.
my shiny house is loud in that good well fed busy happy family kind of way.
i could do this all day too :-)
Why do u need the kids to sleep until 8am when they each have there own nanny?
Grant
Color is unimportant. I just like the people coming in to clean and shop for me. I don't mind cooking as long as they make the kids eat it and I don't have to wash any pans. Oh! Also, someone to pay the bills. And handle spam email. AND find me the perfect bathing suits without having to go to a store.The end.
This weblog is being featured on Five Star Friday –
http://www.schmutzie.com/fivestarfriday/2010/8/20/five-star-fridays-116th-edition-is-brought-to-you-by-michael.html
I love, LOVE this post!
My shiny house is a soothing sage green and is large and airy, with skylights and a closed-in porch. It sits on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean.
It has a full-time maid, nanny, and chef a personal trainer and a personal shopper.
It has secret passageways, paintings in the library with the eyes cut out, spiral staircases, and hidden doorways. And there are two siblings who play in those places and are the best of friends :)
Ooh I like this. I'm doing one of my own on my own blog. Someday!
This post is so wonderful, I can't tell you.
At my shiny royal blue house with white shutters, there is a chef who makes food that everybody likes, floors that stay magically clean, and shiny gold coins in a treasure chest in the basement so that nobody has to work at anything they don't want to do. There is an art studio with a potter's wheel and an easel and space for my sewing machine and lots of sunshine, and it is never too hot or too cold. It has bookshelves on all the walls that don't have windows. There is a warehouse separate from my shiny royal blue house where my husband can happily put everything he owns in piles all over the floor and since I never have to see it, it never bothers me. The internet is always connected to my laptop, and I have all the time I want to create and write and play with my son and talk to my friends and family, and plenty of room to house for free everyone I know who needs a room sometimes.
My shiny house is a little cottage on the sand. I can hear the waves crashing every day and fall asleep to the sound of them at night. I spend evenings on the deck with a glass of wine, writing and watching the sun set over the ocean. I spend the days photographing the nuances of the coast. I could go on and on and on and on ….
Who cares about my house! What do you mean with this "procurement"? How far along the path are we? Funny I said "we" I guess I'm vested in this family at this point! Hee hee that's funny to notice.
I feel silly but I just loved the fact that the wine was Giesen- and comes from New Zealand like me. I can relate to so many of the things you have written over the past few years but this one just brings us a step closer. In my shiny house of undetermined colour we ship Giesen Sauvignon Blanc to our 'friends' in the states by the case or by the pallet depending on our mood on the day.
It's a cream shiny brick house and there's always chocolate dessert with NO calories!! :D
This is SO fun!!! – he he.
At my white shiny house, there is someone to fill the dog's water dish and let him in and out of the house as he pleases. (He pleases about 100 times more a day than I do!)
And, someone is there to provide nurturing entertainment while I shower, and do my hair. (Yes, I'll even do it myself!)
And, I have a perfectly styled photography studio where someone sets up and takes down for me.
:)
At my shiny STONE house, there are barnwood floors worn smooth with the feet of many well-behaved grandchildren who live next door with their parents. The children always wear spotless white and smell like sunshine. All the girls have long curls which I can brush until my arms get tired, and the boys will beg to sit on my lap to be read to as we rock. They call me some made-up name that I love to hear. When I get tired I can send them home. My dog Katherine has no white hair and her breath is sweet. The walls of my shiny stone house are old and strong. The windows are huge, and lots of light comes through. There is just enough clutter to be cozy. My husband picks me enormous bouquets of hydrangeas from the bushes in the back yard that never turn brown. He presents them to me with a flourish, then asks me to dance and kisses me for ten minutes straight.
In my house, I will have piles of hardback books by my bed that I buy the very day they are released. And I won't feel guilty when I spend the day reading.
What a great idea! I love this and am totally stealing this idea to do with my kids.
My house: It's purple, bright purple and I have a maid, chef and everyone sleeps in until noon! My kids play the Wii in peace and never get upset when they lose and my hubby can read my thoughts so he knows what I mean when I can't say what I mean and say something totally different. I have all new everything! and everything stays bright and shiny and new and my mom and grandparents come over everyday for coffee.
In my "shiny" house nothing really ever is shiny, because it is filled with children (and later grandchildren), friends and family, lots of love and laughter. In the winter the fireplace becomes our homes heart where we sit and sing, read books and tell stories. I have a huge kitchen table that easily sits 20 and a loft with space for an entire school class to sleep over. In my shiny house I am a SAHM and don´t have any desire to work. My garden is filled with old fruit trees and flowers are always in bloom, attracting butterflies in every color of the rainbow.
Oh this is so fun. White. Big old farmhouse with a wrap around porch. But on the beach too, so we can ride our horses through the waves. At least four kids – who, of course, all get along amazingly well. Check on the list you already made, laundress, dog trainer, bartender, people who serve hors d oevres with the vodka tonics. Definitely a library. And maybe a pool too for when we don't feel like salt water.
Sigh. Good stuff.
My blue, shiny house is a perfect 72 degrees all the time, and there are never any leaks or broken appliances. Harmony and laughter rule our lives. Children pick up their toys and sleep all night long. My pair of brothers is a trio, and has a pair of sisters to complete the set. There is no crying or whining, and Popsicles and chocolate are in endless supply.
But, if I'm being completely honest, my life right now as it is so so amazingly beautiful, and I love it so, so much, I'm almost worried I'll jinx it by imagining it any other way.
Love this post and all the ideas that sprang from it! In my shiny purple house, I have an entire guest wing so my girlfriends can come over and we can have gossip/wine parties.
at my shiny blue house, there are 26 hours in each day :)
My shiny house is made of clapboard shingles like they have in Cape Cod. Inside, the kitchen floors never have any food on them. There is someone there to sweep every last crumb. The children play and are creative all day long. There is never an argument or an unkind word. Books stack the shelves. And best of all, in my shiny house, there is a Starbucks to dispense the chai tea lattes and chocolate has no calories.
'6 children'…what did I miss?
My shiny house is sunflower yellow. I cook but the dishes magically clean themselves, as do the floors, carpets and bathrooms. Weeds don't grow in the garden of my shiny house and my garden is thick with flowers of every color. My children are grown now but in my shiny house, grandchildren visit, swing on the swing in the backyard and play until bedtime.
My shiny house is a hobbit's den: It has long, winding hallways and a big round green door. The pantry is full, the village is a happy place and everyone knows everybody's kids and will happily provide them huge chunks of bread as they roam freely throughout the day. Every other night we will have a party much like Bolbo Baggins' party at the start of the Fellowship of the Ring :)
I will have seven healthy happy children and my health will be all the better for it. No money, time, or worries came with those additional five children, and we'll have canary birds, fish tanks, cats, dogs and hens aplenty!
…I love this, thank you!
In my shiny golden house, I have a self-cleaning kitchen and a bathroom that never smells like pee.
And it's located in the proverbial village which helps me raise my children.
(this post made me smile big.)
I am struck by my lack of imagination right now. My shiny house would be yellow and if my husband ever got around to painting it, our actual house would be yellow right now too! It would have more bedrooms so my oldest wouldn't be in such a hurry to move out and it would be in another neighborhood where asshole dogs don't try to eat my children with their eyes through our fence…also, an indoor bowling alley, a home theater with stadium seating, and a swimming pool with a waterfall. And possibly a garden labyrinth. As long as we're fantasizing. :)
this is so cute. if i weren't so sick i'd have a lot of requests for my blue shiny house.
Can I move into your brown shiny house? It sounds awesome.
At my shiny green house, there is a library with books stacked to the ceiling, and a designated book holder who holds my book for me and turns the pages while I knit. There is also a toddler-free kitchen and every ingredient I could want in the cabinets. The teenager never takes the last of anything. Everything is immediately replenished.
At my shiny green house, I never have to change an empty toilet paper roll or carry in the groceries on one arm while a toddler dangles from the other. There's a mud room where everyone takes off their shoes before walking on the hardwoods. There is never any animal hair settling on the tables, the furniture, or the floor, because a magic vacuum system sucks everything up while I'm gone to work during the day.
Oh do I adore this. (And totally relate to that pang of "oh, I really wish I would lighten up and let my kids…fill in the blank here.)
In my shiny white house, with vast porches on each level, I could see the sea and the mountains at once.
In my shiny white house, the maid picks up all the clutter and knows exactly where to put it so I'd be able to find it.
In my shiny white house with huge black shutters and blazing flower beds, my kids would also sleep until 8 am. And for three hours a day, we'd all sit quietly in the library and read books. No one would need anything or argue or whine.
In my shiny white house, everyone in the world would have a shiny house of their own.
Great post. Thank you.
My house is your brown shiny house, too. That sounds perfectly beautiful!
my charcoal shiny house with the white trim and yellow door has a chef, a maid, a fully stocked sewing room, and children who sleep when they are supposed to.
I love this post Stacey! My shiny house is green. I can eat candy and ice cream and never feel sick. My favorite movies are always available on Netflix Instant View. My flowers stay alive. And my favorite little people who I used to babysit come over anytime and let me rock them to sleep or ask me incessantly what I've had for breakfast.
I miss you're little people, and you too. Let's hang out sometime in our shiny houses.
my house is warm, and comforting- with the smell of bread baking in the oven.
And the sound of laughter coming out of the windows, open to the large garden awaiting us in the back yard.
xoxox
Aw, this is wonderful! I had my own sort of "shiny house" as a child, and it was such a fun game, but I never thought about it as a way to better understand the inner workings of one's own children (and I haven't played the game as an adult… maybe I will!). This cheered up an anxious evening considerably.
my house is see-through but perfectly impenetrable.
i love that you built one for us to see and climb around in.
At my shiny house there is my precious son, and perhaps another baby if I wanted. There is a husband who loves me and says only kind things, does not drink, or yell, or swear and who does not care if I am not skinny anymore. I can open my mouth without pain, and I have teeth to eat whatever I please. There are no days when my body or mind or heart hurt until I cannot stand it, and my son never sees me cry. There is no laundry mountain to dig through, no dirty dishes collect there. No bills come in, but paychecks come weekly without working 48 hours on night shift to earn one. There is a huge bed where I can sleep (and I am able to sleep in my shiny house) snuggled close to my son.
In my shiny house I am "good enough" for everyone and happy with who I am.
I adore this. At my pink and orange shiny house, no one has to work because there is no mortgage payment. We have a maid and a chef and an on-staff masseuse who gives killer pedicures. Somehow, we always have fresh lilacs, no matter the season.
And happiness. Everyone is always happy.
oh where do I begin:
In my shiny house there is a whole family. There is more noise. There is a man who loves a woman very much and has her back and she has his. There is another child that I love as much as my own and together we explore the world. That, is my shiny house.
See how you bring all of us together?
You are such a talented woman.
xo
my shiny house is the house where i already live, except the kitchen has a cream and green checkered linoleum floor and fancy appliances that make cooking dinner more fun and we have a family room off of the back where the tv lives and there is NO TV in the living room, which is only for hanging out and making eye contact and talking to each other. we also have a fourth bedroom; it's where our fourth kid sleeps.
(and my shiny house is in a very shiny neighborhood full of smart talkative mom friends who walk with me on the sidewalks and invite us over for backyard things that go on way later than we intended.)
had to come back to dream a little because i didn't have the time to dream when i first read this.
in my shiny house … i would have had the time.
my shiny house is probably a made-over barn.
there is a closet with an organizer in every room.
and a little gnome that comes out at night and empties and refills the dishwasher.
and the table has 12 chairs. because there should always be room for friends.
and my best friend lives next door. because coffee with friends is super important.
My shiny house is exactly like my house is now (with its cramped closets and lack of a work space for me) only my mum and dad live down the street, and so do my younger sisters and their kids, and my oldest sister and I actually get along and she lives maybe um a neighborhood away and we have bbq's each weekend and all the kids play in the glorious backyard filled with flowers.