Friday, November 12, 2010

friday favorite

there is an old wooden swing behind my grandparents' house. held up by a rusting metal frame, the swing has chipped paint, creaking hinges and tired, strained boards. it sits among a backyard playground-seesaws, jungle gyms and swing sets. when our church got a new playground, my grandfather bought the old one, putting it behind his house for all of us grandchildren to play on. i remember magical afternoons in the sunset, swinging upside down, holding my sister up tauntingly high on the seesaw, swinging straight into the sky.

and there is a picture in a shoebox beneath my bed. a picture of my grandpa on the swing. one hand on his knee, the other around my beautiful grandma. how they loved that swing. no one uses it much anymore. grandchildren have grown up. the jungle gym went into the junkyard a few years ago. my grandma passed seven years ago and since then my grandpa hasn't been much for swinging.

when it came time to make my own home, to transform a little cottage on the side of the road into my sanctuary, i knew i wanted one thing-a swing like my grandparents'. because it's not just a swing. it is a symbol of love, of devotion. it is a promise to robert that i will swing beside him for the rest of my life. we found the perfect one at a little amish market in the city. on my birthday in april, robert suprised me with it. the swing-in all its crisp white glory, was sitting on our side porch when i got home. since then, we've watched the sunset from that seat. we've sat outside on balmy summer nights from evening to dark, talking into the blackness. since it's gotten colder, we have bundled up ourselves and pablo and gone outside to sit, watching our breath make clouds in the air, hands clutching warm bowls of soup.

this, my friends, is my favorite place in my house. i find immense peace and love here:




so my question for you is this: where do you find peace and love in your home?

3 comments:

Tunes & Spoons said...

We had a swing very similar to this at my Nanny and Papa's home. It was the host of many family pictures and childrens games. I loved that swing too. It broke my heart when my grandmother moved out of that house this year. But its better to have her closer to us so we can see her more often. I sure hope someone is still enjoying that swing.

Jenni@Story of My Life said...

That is DARLING!! And I adore your red brick. I find peace and love in pretty much every room of my house. My husband and I have worked so hard on it, so each room feels pretty special. :)

And thank you for your sweet comment on my blog... it meant so much to me. :)

Peaches said...

Aww this was a really sweet post. My parents had a sing under their deck that as kids, my brother and I loved to play on. All the neighborhood kids would come over and we'd play TV tag in the yard and play on the swing. There are a lot of good memories associated with swings. :)

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