Thirty years in one place

This weekend marks the anniversary of our homecoming. We'd spent seven years away from the nest area in North Texas, three of them in Georgia. It had been a good experience, allowing us to set up our married life and subsequent children at a distance from the families. My husband's professional training being over, we loaded up our two vehicles, two babies, two dogs and, with the aid of a sister-in-law who drove faster the closer we got to home, we headed out.

I'm not sure if we arrived home July 3 or 4. There was a huge banner above our door welcoming us back. The SIL's boyfriend had put it there, and I doubt he was welcoming us. It had been an arduous drive since the speed limit was down, gas prices were up, and gas itself was rationed.

Did I think, as we gratefully pulled two vehicles into the drive of our new home, that I would still be in it 30 years later? I wasn't 30 years old myself; I had no concept of the time involved. Thirty years was, well, a very long time. Who knew what it would bring? We'd already had lots of changes in our lives, most of them wrapped around two little boys and the hope that a successful career was on the verge of beginning.

In 30 years, I've watched my sons grow up. They're Eagle Scouts like their dad, college graduates, doing well in their own careers and marriages. I've two grandchildren. My spouse has seen his career grow and change with the times. All good, as the elder son would say. I dared myself to write a romance novel, then more. To be published, and I am. I've volunteered with Scouting, the church, the regional hospital, the public library.

Over the years, we never entertained the idea of moving from the house we started with. We have redecorated, remodeled, repurposed all of it. Besides the bathrooms and kitchen, only two rooms retain their original duties. In 2001-02, we gutted the place and lived to tell, marriage in tact!

Then we told ourselves it would look extremely shabby in another 20 years and we'd have to do it all over again. Let's see, 20 years from 2002... I'll be... ready.