I'll take the kittens any day of the week

We stay in the same house every summer vacation. There is this ugly brass lamp in the corner of the family room.

It probably weighs a hundred pounds.

And it just might be my favorite thing in the house.

I'm not really being fair calling it ugly. It's not really ugly. Just dated.

It's really a picture of everything in the house.

Simple and sturdy.

There is an actual landline phone. There is beautiful carpet that looks like a Patagonia shirt I had in the 90s.

I'm not worried about messing things up. I'm relaxed there.

Now that brass lamp will last 100 years. Heck, 1000 years. Though, you'd probably have to replace the shade...

And I'm totally fine with updating, trends, and the latest 'thing'.

But I'd choose this house every time over some of the others in the area. The sterile, all white interiors. The soulless space.

Give me nooks and crannies. Give me 30 years of puzzle with kittens or schooners. Give me carpet so deep I can't see my toes. Give me a dining table with water rings.

Give me a place where I can live.

The white-box houses are nicer. Everyone uses a coaster.

You can feel it. They look like a place you visit. This old house feels like a place someone loved.

I'll take the lamp.

Best,

John