Redux

Here, I have photographed a drawing of the house that my daughters grew up in until they were 11 and 7. I always felt blessed to have had the resources to live there, and to have a spouse who had the vision and determination to self-contract the rehabilitation of this 1924 home, planted in Glen Ellyn, Illinois.

Today, I was thinking about my parents, as I have written a novel based on love letters that my father wrote to my mother in 1940, shortly before they married. In one of those letters, he promised to build my mother a house, where they would raise a beautiful family.

Although my dad would eventually build a lake house in Lodi, New York, which I have mentioned in previous "Blips," he never built their "dream" house. She never mentioned it much, even though she ended up raising 5 children in a "twin" house, connected to my father's mother and sister.

I spent the first 9 years of my life in that house, the youngest of the five, and 17 years younger than my oldest sibling, my dear brother, John. It wasn't large, had only 1 full bath, yet somehow, it was a happy, albeit cramped home.

My mom helped us move into "this" house. It was a beautiful day at the beginning of October, 1990. A good portion of the place still needed completion, but we passed the occupancy inspection and set about making it a home.

Mom made many visits there, and even lived with us for 3 months before she had to head back East and move into an assisted living facility in January,1994. We lost her to a stroke in July, 1995, but for me, she will always be remembered for her beautiful smile, and how she beamed doing the dishes after our first Christmas dinner there.

She found 16 pits in one little lemon that day, and I still recall singing about it to my daughter Kara, and my mom laughing at me with her unique "cackle."

It's funny how I walk past this drawing several times a day, yet today, it beckoned me to photograph it and give you a little taste of my former life in Chicago, and how it relates to my parent's history.

We may not live there anymore, but 602 Lenox Road will always remain in my heart, and remind me to cherish the memories I hold of that place, and of the days we all spent there with my mom, Mary.

My novel is finally calling me back to edit.

Isn't it funny how something as simple as a drawing of a house can turn things around?

Much love.