Spring!

Buying an old home (built in 1900) that was unoccupied for over a year before it was  foreclosed has been an interesting adventure. It’s full off unknowns and surprises. Some of those surprises have been less than welcome: surprise! Wasps from a  giant nest are tunneling into the kitchen pantry! (Thankfully we got this taken care of before we moved in). Surprise! Squirrels are trying to come in the hole the wasps used! Surprise! More squirrels are digging a hole through the master bathroom ceiling! Surprise! The grout seems to be coming up from the (recently remodeled) master bath shower! Surprise! More than a third of the backyard is asphalt! The rest is mud, rocks, broken rubble, and weeds!

But occasionally, just when we’re starting to think we bought the Money Pit incarnate, there are pleasant surprises. Like beautiful yellow daffodils and tulips and lilies of the valley sprouting out of the otherwise desolate front flower beds. Unexpected signs of spring’s beauty! Sure, this surprise was kind of like many other aspects of the house (2/3 of the way great, 1/3 whacky): several of the tulips are outside the flower beds in random parts of the yard. All of the tulips are yellow except one bold red guy and two pink ones over by the front side walk. A pleasant surprise.

Another surprise to me was discovering a park in the center of our little village that is filled with hundreds of blooming tulips and lilacs. In fact, Lombard is known as the Lilac Capital of the world and the park is home to 200 varieties of lilacs and 25,000 tulips! Allie and I walked there the other day and enjoyed all the beautiful sights and smells. Everywhere we go, people comment on what a happy, smiley baby she is. And I always agree with them, “She really is!” I am so blessed.