"Our House"

Today's post takes us to a place that was once filled with laughter and life, and despite its current weathered appearance it still brings back countless memories of fun times shared with my family and friends. My mom and I recently took a drive to Illinois where the home is located approximately two hours from where I live.

Please listen to the song I selected to go with my post called "Our House" as it does an excellent job setting up the tone

"I'll light the fire
You put the flowers in the vase that you bought today
Staring at the fire for hours and hours while I listen to you
Play your love songs all night long for me, only for me

Come to me now and rest your head for just five minutes, everything is good
Such a cozy room, the windows are illuminated by the
Sunshine through them, fiery gems for you, only for you

Our house is a very, very, very fine house with two cats in the yard
Life used to be so hard
Now everything is easy 'cause of you
And our la,la,la,la,la,la,la,la,la

Our house is a very, very, very fine house with two cats in the yard
Life used to be so hard
Now everything is easy 'cause of you
And our

I'll light the fire while you place the flowers in the vase that you bought today"

Songwriters: Graham Nash
Source: LyricFind

This is "The Lake House" my parents bought after my father retired from the government sector in 1985 as a place for our family of four to go to and retreat from city life and get some clean air. In its day, the double-wide mobile home was somewhere we could easily envision my parents living whenever they wanted. We eagerly anticipated spending weekends and vacation time here.

And for a time we did.

We fished. We swam. We boated. We skied.

We laughed. We lived.

But then life got in the way.

And then, death.

My brother died fifteen years ago and my father almost eleven years...

And now the time has come to let go of the property which will require a lot of time in the upcoming months. I have to put on my "big girl pants" and be the adult. It's easier to try to sell while my mom is still alive. Thankfully, we still have each other and can spend quality time together in the process!

Snow has such an incredible, magical effect on everything it touches and the blanket of recent snowfall gives the property's landscape a remarkable transformation.

Ivy continues to thrive, clinging to fallen branches and peeking through the snow.

Shrubs, bushes and trees planted for privacy are no longer trimmed and manicured. Unkempt. Exhausted from decades of doing their job. They retired.

A bittersweet souvenir from farmers who relentlessly continue to grow crops each year on the neighboring fields.

My father's parents and generations before them were farmers in Russia. I understand why my dad loved this area surrounding The Lake House.

I will never get tired of this remarkable view of fields in the Interior Plains!

Posting for #makemesmile by the lovely @elizacheng and the #WednesdayWalk tag created/hosted by the incredible @tattoodjay and sponsored by wonderful @bluemist! You can learn more about the "relaxed" rules by clicking here