Take away the cars and dust this neighborhood in snow, and the year could be 1954. These streets of two-story brick Cape Cod style houses between Highway 29 and Arlington Blvd. remind me of the iconic all-American, all-white neighborhoods in my first grade reading books.
Yesterday, riding through the neighborhood to Marcus's lacrosse game, azaleas and dogwoods in profuse bloom, I found myself humming "Happy Days...."
In 2017, this is a multi-racial, multi-ethnic neighborhood, a sweet blending of nationalities. I look at the houses and wonder, what would they might say "if these walls could talk" about all the changes since they were built in 1948.
Day and Tom bought this house nineteen years ago, the house where both Jackson and Marcus were brought home to right after they were born. The nursery has since become a library and is now Marcus' bedroom; Day and Tom's former bedroom is now Jackson's; the upstairs (formerly the boys' rooms and the guest room) has been remodeled to include Day and Tom's bedroom and Day's quilting studio.
This incarnation of the house is more muted in colors than in former years. They've gone for a more Zen palette of greys and neutral with pops of colors from quilts and photographs. They've built a beautiful screened-in porch that stretches along the back of the house.
Inside this house, there's a climate of such ease and peacefulness! At night, the four of them sit together in the living room, listening to each other talk like best friends, all four interested in the happenings of everyone else's days, all contributing to problem-solving and decision-making. There's a lot of laughter.
If anyone has a concert or a game, everyone goes. They sit in the freezing rain or muggy heat to watch lacrosse. They make costumes together, practice instruments in the kitchen, and all pitch in to make dinner and clean up afterwards. Yesterday Day wanted to run to the fabric store and all five us hopped in the car to go with her. That's the way this family rolls!
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