Nine Houses

 

Our first home together was a daylight basement apartment with one bedroom. We managed the large apartment complex to pay the rent. Our landlords later moved us to the second floor, because it had air conditioning and I was very, very pregnant. When the second baby came, we moved to a two-bedroom apartment with only a dozen units to manage. After graduation, we rented a townhome. No one lived above or beneath us, but our neighbor’s alarm still woke us early every morning. The first home we owned was a one-story with an unfinished basement and no garage. The second was the same, except it had a two-car garage. We were thrilled to choose cupboards, countertops, flooring, etc. for the next house, but the contractors ignored many of our choices. Our English home was by far the best constructed. Of all nine addresses, we've called this one "home" the longest of all – eighteen years next month!