was tight and every unexpected bill meant rearranging our budget.
We painted the bedrooms ourselves. We planted roses along the walkway. We replaced the kitchen cabinets one summer because hiring someone would have cost too much.
We celebrated birthdays in that dining room, watched Christmas mornings unfold beneath the same tree, and sat together on the back porch during warm evenings when the world seemed to slow down.
My husband passed away several years ago, but the house still carried pieces of him everywhere.
His favorite chair remained beside the
