When Chris was 10, he moved to the property where Nestlewood is now, into an old house with 5 acres of land. In 1986, Chris' parents deeded an acre of that land to Chris' older brother, who built a house on it. He and his family lived there for 9 years. I named that house Nestlewood after we bought it from them in 1998.
Nestlewood is nothing fancy. 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, not quite 1600 square feet, and not a 90 degree angle in the place. The windows are a mish mash; some aluminum, some vinyl, some wooden framed. And, as Chris' brother says "the house ain't built right". True; it ain't, but it hasn't fallen down around us yet, so we're good.
But here is one of the best things about Nestlewood. The children of the people that Chris grew up with are now the children that play with our children. They still live just up the road. The little girl who spent the night with Thumbelina last night is the daughter of the younger sister of Chris' best friend in high school.
In other words, Glenn and Earline raised Shannon and Becky. Shannon was Chris' best friend. Becky lives on Glenn and Earline's property with her husband and three children. My kids hang out with Shannon's kids and Becky's kids and their kids hang with mine. We even carpool to school! My kids often hang out at Glenn and Earline's house, which is the same place where Chris spent half his time growing up.
This is good Southern stuff.
Nobody calls ahead to see if it's okay to drop by. In fact, Becky's daughter stayed over last night because she was still here playing after it got dark. And it's noon the next day, and she's still here. Her mom (Becky) called just a minute ago and said "Just send her home when you get tired of her. Send your kids too if you're tired of them."
4 comments:
I do miss the simple country ways! I suppose I'll have to make do with my sountrack. *More to come btw*
I'll admit to missing that. We don't have those kinds of roots or friendships here.
Only in the South, bless your heart! :)
It would never even occur to me just to drop in on someone! What if they were still in their robe?!! ;)
I agree with T.Y. I would be mortified if people just dropped in unannounced. But the rest is cool. Especially the "just send her home when you are tired of her" bit.
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