Friday, June 29, 2012

Old House Emotions

~The author of one of my favorite blogs, http://restoringhome.wordpress.com//  recently referred to living in an old house as an experience, a privilege – and an exercise in patience.
She is absolutely right. Always difficult to explain to others, there is something about old house owners that sets them apart.
~While I often gaze longingly at the polished wood floors and perfect moldings and trims of homes I see in magazines, I know I would tire of the perfection. The quirks and challenges of living in an old house do not appeal to the masses. Most people are "normal" and like their surroundings to be as such. However, old house owners are an odd lot. We need something to save. We think we can fix anything with a coat of paint. We crave restoring the ugly and worn to its former state.
~Often, the latter is impossible to achieve. So we make it as good as we can, always trying to maintain the integrity of  its soul.
~My blogger friend ended her recent post with a quote from the Skin Horse in Margery Williams' "The Velveteen Rabbit," about what it is to be real. I think it's perfect.
~“Real…doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t often happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”
~Old house lovers know this for sure.

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