After a long hiatus, I am again linking up to the Six Sentence Story hop, hosted by Ivy. This week's prompt: address.
My parents managed to provide their children with the somewhat unlikely combination of the stability of home with dreams (and reality) of adventure, which was a wonderful gift.
While we lived in the same brick-trimmed rambler from the time I was 3 until my sophomore year of high school, several times a serious discussion arose around the possibility of a move--not just any move, mind you, but a move filled with major life-style changes and excitement.
One time, we pondered over purchasing the small, isolated town of Princeton, Oregon (population 5, if we bought it) and learned that the "local" high school was actually one of the nation's oldest public boarding schools, located miles away.
Another time, my dad interviewed for (and had my mom also been a teacher, would have gotten) a teaching position on one of the islands in the Kodiak Island Archipelago. Dinnertime discussion focused on bears and how we would have to take a boat or plane just to get to church each week.
When I started my sophomore year in high school, we moved a mere 15 miles away, but the adventure we began was just as exciting as Princeton or Alaska would have been; we moved into a passive-solar, underground (or at least set into the hill) home that Dad imagined and built, proving to us all that dreams do come true!
Thanks for dreams and stability, all wrapped up in one childhood.
My parents managed to provide their children with the somewhat unlikely combination of the stability of home with dreams (and reality) of adventure, which was a wonderful gift.
While we lived in the same brick-trimmed rambler from the time I was 3 until my sophomore year of high school, several times a serious discussion arose around the possibility of a move--not just any move, mind you, but a move filled with major life-style changes and excitement.
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| Photo: Me standing in front of my childhood home, on a particularly snowy day (for our area) |
One time, we pondered over purchasing the small, isolated town of Princeton, Oregon (population 5, if we bought it) and learned that the "local" high school was actually one of the nation's oldest public boarding schools, located miles away.
Another time, my dad interviewed for (and had my mom also been a teacher, would have gotten) a teaching position on one of the islands in the Kodiak Island Archipelago. Dinnertime discussion focused on bears and how we would have to take a boat or plane just to get to church each week.
When I started my sophomore year in high school, we moved a mere 15 miles away, but the adventure we began was just as exciting as Princeton or Alaska would have been; we moved into a passive-solar, underground (or at least set into the hill) home that Dad imagined and built, proving to us all that dreams do come true!
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| Photo: The east side of Dad's dream house, where my parents still live. |
Thanks for dreams and stability, all wrapped up in one childhood.
That dream home of your Dad's, with solar panels and built into the hillside was definitely visionary.
ReplyDeletePassive solar has no panels, but yes, he has always been forward-thinking.
DeleteDaring dreams, for sure! I love that the family discussed the pros and cons at the dinner table. I don't think families eat together much anymore.
ReplyDeleteI'm a big believer in family mealtimes.
Deleteearth-sheltered houses! I was new in real estate when they started to become 'popular'... well, not popular in the sense that everyone wanted one, after all, this is New England!
ReplyDeleteI suppose the wild West has a different character than traditional New England. :-)
Deleteawesome dreams
ReplyDelete:-)
DeleteNo matter our dreams our real life never seems to follow them but that does not mean you are any worse off. The secret is to enjoy what you have.
ReplyDeleteI agree!
DeleteYour parents dream big! What a wonderfully perfect house your Dad made. He should build more! and I would live in one....
ReplyDeleteIt certainly turned out well. The building of it was a process, though!
DeleteYour parents dream big! What a wonderfully perfect house your Dad made. He should build more! and I would live in one....
ReplyDeleteI love this - what great dreams and adventures!
ReplyDeleteI appreciate how my parents raised me and my siblings. :-)
DeleteIt is timely reading this today, we are contemplating a move. I am addicted to the idea of doing a HGTV type rehab. My daughter however has not bought into the idea!
ReplyDeleteI could write a lot more than 6 sentences describing what it was like making "build your dream home" dream come true. We moved in when the house was VERY unfinished. I loved the experience, but it certainly didn't follow an HGTV-type schedule. :-)
DeleteAwesome way to grow up! Teaches calculated risk taking , balance and adventure
ReplyDeleteMy dad might be retired from the classroom, but he is still teaching me.
DeleteAwesome way to grow up! Teaches calculated risk taking , balance and adventure
ReplyDeleteYour father was a visionary! Great story.
ReplyDeleteI love your Father's dream home! Glad he got to have it and a great story.
ReplyDelete