The elderly lady across the street from me finally moved in with her daughter.  There’s a huge estate sale this week, and the house is for sale (for sale by owner–the kids are giving that a try!).  As I walked through the house, I thought it was almost a shrine to another era of Brookside living:  the linen tablecloths, the china, the gloves and cloth napkins..the heavy furniture and lace curtains, tiny floral wallpaper and a toast rack.  I think most newlyweds don’t even register for fine china and when I wear gloves–it’s to keep  my hands warm, not to accessorize an outfit.

The house itself doesn’t look like it’s been updated since it was built-in the 1920s.  Brookside homes are known for their charming architectural details but this house…not even a dishwasher in the kitchen!  The crown molding along the ceilings… the glass doorknobs and original corner cabinets in the breakfast nook..cove ceilings…the unpainted wood trim..arched doorways and curving fireplace…. and  oh the art deco bath!  Those black and yellow tiles still seem as shiny as the day they were installed decades ago!  Near the back door you find the ice door for the ice block, and in the basement, the pine wood paneling and bar for the ‘rec room’.  If the walls could talk…

What will probably happen is this:  a rehabber will snatch up the house, update the interior and strip it of all the fine detailing. Granite counters, beige tile, white-painted woodwork, knocked out  walls, more beige tile and poof!  it looks like the inside of every other newly built home in Suburbia USA.   I don’t fault buyers for wanting an updated, move in ready home–that’s what most of my buyers want.  But there is a way to freshen up while still retaining some of the original character of a home.  To rip out that deco tile bath seems like such a waste!  At least the Tudor exterior will remain.

I’m looking forward to meeting the new neighbors, whenever they come along.  Maybe it will be another family, to replace the one that’s grown and gone.   But one thing is for sure:  the more sophisticated and upscale lifestyle of those original folks is gone for good.  Let’s hope the charm of the craftsmen remains.

As one gets older…it seems easier to shrug off the self motivation.  The aged body whispers:  ‘just lay on the sofa’ and the brain says ‘look at all that’s left on the to do list’.  But what’s so important on the to do list? Straightening up the basement, sorting out the girls’ summer clothes, stopping by Target and ironing. Blah.

But my seventeen year old daughter is very self motivated towards an admirable goal:  earning enough money to go back to Spain next summer.  She recently got a job at The Dime Store and still babysits as often as she can.  She has bills:  car insurance, gas, phone bill, entertainment cash and she loves to shop.  Last week she told us she is saving to return to Spain next year to see her friend Macarena, who she stayed with during a trip with her spanish class last summer.    Erin fell in love with ‘the European lifestyle’.  What’s so striking is that when I was 19, it was my goal to go to Europe–and I saved my money and went to London and Paris for three weeks. I knew my parents couldn’t afford it, but I had the fever to get out of the midwest, out of my parents’ house and on my own.  So I did. And now my daughter wants to do the same thing. It must be in the genes.

Perhaps my ‘to do’ list should be …. go back to Europe, instead of ‘go to Target’. And I should be saving money to do it before it’s too late.  The responsibilities of everyday life get in the way:  money for retirement, for groceries, for college, for gas, for home maintenance, car repair, the business…and somehow the cash  coming in doesn’t keep up with the ever-increasing expenses.  So the days trickle by, one by one, and I think, ‘maybe some day when the kids are gone and on their own I’ll have time and money for xxxxx’.  Yes I’m self motivated to do it, and working every day for several  decades should also include the promise to finally book those plane tickets.  I’m so glad Erin is making plans to fly again into her dreams…now.