it's electric

my sister-in-law recently bought a house, so we spent this afternoon helping her move and set up her furniture and get her appliances in working order.  it required alot of energy, even to do a simple task like put her couch together.  after we were done and relaxing, i was trying to recall who had helped my husband and i move into our place, especially with the big items i couldn't have carried, and remembered my old roommate had come out to give us a hand.  i felt ashamed that i had so easily forgotten, especially since we couldn't have done it without him.

after the move-in, we went out to dinner to celebrate.  my SIL was giddy, displaying that same excitement anyone would have for owning their first home.  i was reminded of one of my favorite memories when my husband and i had bought our house, after closing.  since the house was 40-50 miles from each of us, we decided to pack up the smaller items in our cars and drive over every evening after work for a week to unload.  on the first night after we had unpacked, not yet possessing any furniture, we lay on the floor in the dark holding hands, in disbelief that this place would now be our home.  we were ridiculously happy.  our cheeks were sore from smiling.  everything on our faces screamed, this is ours!  this is really ours!  and although the rooms were bare, we knew it would only be a matter of time before we filled them.  and nearly 5 years later, we have.

that "first homeowner" feeling is electric.

november 2006, our first night in our new house