what happens when the coccoon is no longer home?

I wonder what it means that I waited in a longer line to procur my free scoop of ben & jerry's ice cream last night than I did to vote. Perhaps just that in one of the union's votingest states, everyone was done by the time I got there at 5:30pm. Everyone except the girl sitting next to the gentleman who checked me in.  She was most emphatically there with a smile on her face. A smile that grew three sizes when I confirmed my address for the dour dark turtleneck wearing guy.

"Oh!" she gasped "I grew up in that house!!!!!!"

As it turns out, before my house became a bit rundown from being a somewhat neglected rental property for a number of years, it was the beloved home of a sweet family of four. (and yes, i'm extrapolating her sweetness out to the rest of her family. seems to fit somehow.) housed a family. They moved in the year I was born, and raised a pair of girls there for the next two plus decades. We compared notes on the house (my walk in closet used to be a sewing room), and the basement has always been full of centipedes). She talked about being afraid of the older than dirt neighbor across the street. the one with the meticulous yard who will bend over long into january, picking up one single solitary leaf that's fallen into her domain. That neighbor is still ancient and still live across the street. And honestly, my inner 10 year old is afraid of her too. If there had been more time, I would have invited her home for tea. In retrospect, I should have offered that if she's ever walking by, she should pop in if she wants to.

I'm not sure why this makes me smile, but it does. I've always felt like the house spoke to me in the low tones of a confidant when I stepped into the sunroom. "you'll be ok here. you can do this. i'll help you." I turned to to the realtor in that very second room I'd walked into and said "I'll take it!" And make no mistake, she has been a grand house to heal in and move on in and party in and hunker down in and share in and garden around. which makes it all the more crazy to me that i'm honestly considering selling her, but I am....