If Walls Could Talk Christmases Past - Memories Yet to Be !
Any house on the market today is going to contain living rooms , kitchens , bedrooms , recreation areas , and specialty rooms , such as libraries , gyms , craft studios or workshops for the handy-person in the family . Those rooms come in a variety of styles and colors , sizes and purposes , but in both resale and new homes , one constant remains : that house either has made memories for the families that have lived inside its walls , or it offers the potential for many new and wonderful memories to come .
But what if those walls could talk ?
When shopping for those new digs many buyers zero in on the home ’ s ability to host holiday happenings . Whether it ’ s a large family , gathering for gifts and Christmas turkey , or the ability to host large groups at holiday festivities , buyers look for a floorplan that flows the people … the kitchen ’ s capability to produce that Christmas turkey and trimmings … and how many family and friends can comfortably gather around the table to enjoy that bird and dressing , chased by a piece of pecan pie .
What if the walls could share all they ’ ve seen and heard ? What if they could relate stories of Christmases past ? Isn ’ t it great to know that the new memories you and your family might make , could be memorialized forever and shared as well ?
Visions of decked halls … plates of homemade cookies and a mug of hot chocolate left lovingly for Santa … yuletide music in the background , a roaring fire and family just enjoying each other in the glow of a brightly-lit , ceiling-scratching evergreen … and the hopes and anticipations that abounded , especially at this most precious time of the year .
Ah , what stories those walls could tell , if only they could talk .
Children and Christmas go together like bacon and eggs . In those bedrooms where the little ones attempted to sleep on Christmas Eve night , their eyes wide open and their ears tuned to hear the slightest hint that the old man in red was in the house ; ah , the poignant memories those walls could relate ! Just imagine the whisperings , and the fears of disappointment , that would have been overheard .
It ’ s not uncommon these days for families to have more than one decorated tree in the house . But whether there ’ s one or five , the shared joy of draping those symbols of Christmas with ornaments that also have a history and the fellowship of family that seems to go handin-hand with trimming the tree would be something the walls would definitely remember . And those same walls would have been the only one to greet Santa on his yearly drop-in . They got the first look at the new bike , and got to watch , and probably chuckle a little , or maybe even shed a tear , as the rider of that bike saw it for the first time .
Out in the kitchen , those walls have been privy to not only memories , but the fragrances and aromas that are so much a part of the holiday season . From soup to roasting ham to whispers of yummy sweet potato casserole and the smell of baking cookies and other holiday confections , the kitchen walls literally have some of the sweetest memories in the house . Memories made ever sweeter , when the cooking involved old family recipes and multiple generations in the kitchen peeling and preparing and sharing .
But that food all has to end up somewhere , and the dining room walls will have plenty of memories . Fortunately , what happens in the dining room stays in the dining room , except for the extra pounds that leave there after every holiday meal . But even as the walls are talking about how no one can make dressing quite like great-granny did , and how Uncle Joe successfully bribed the youngest child to eat a hated vegetable , and what a klutz grandfather was at carving the turkey , they ’ ll also reassure you that there are no calories in holiday family meals . Instead , it ’ s the memories that leave an impression .
So as you search for just the right house for your family , in between deciding which position would work best for the couch and which bedroom little Susie will like , stop and listen . Really listen . You might just hear snatches of laughter and tears , joy and fears , and the story of a house well-loved and lived .
by John Shivers
Holiday 2020 www . possrealty . com 37