Thankfulness

Thanksgiving falls on Thursday-home of my “Thankful Thursday” blog post-imagine that!

And this Thanksgiving I have much to be thankful for. But I think I’ll only share one thing.

I’m thankful for the new addition to my parent’s home.

I and my six siblings grew up (and were homeschooled) in an 1100 square foot home with three bedrooms, 1.5 baths, and an unfinished basement. When Anna and I were on the cusp of our teenage years, we partially finished the basement to include a couple more non-compliant bedrooms. Mom and Dad moved to the room that had previously been occupied by the two of us (the 10×12 “Master bedroom”), leaving their old room free as a “school room”.

Mom has been sketching up potential additions for at least 10 years now. But the time has never been right, or there have been delays of one sort or another. But this last year, my parent’s finally got what they’ve been wishing for for years.

Here’s what they got:

• A guest bedroom
  The room they vacated now serves as a guest bedroom. Finally, after so many years, they can open their homes to family and friends who are visiting. They can offer their guest to room to missionaries on furlough.
• A space to entertain
  For years, my parents made do with hosting “home groups” in the church fellowship hall and doing family get togethers at everyone’s house but theirs. No longer. They now have a space where they can invite the whole clan to join them (indoors).
• A new couch
  In twenty-five years of marriage, my parents have never owned a new couch. They have lived on hand-me-downs from family and friends, biding their time until they could own some new furniture. Now they have four new couches–ones that they picked out. Mom could decorate the new house however she chose–instead of having to work around the gold or rust colored monstrosity someone gave them (that they were very thankful for, despite its unfortunate color, by the way).
• Space of their own
  As a young child, I remember when my mom would lock herself into the bathroom to have a few almost quiet moments to herself. I remember being loaded into one of our parade of station wagons to “go for a drive” in the evening so Mom could get out of the house. I remember Mom leaving 10 year old Anna in charge for 15 minutes so she could go on a walk to have a few moments to think. Mom’s “personal space” was also the school room, and Mom and Dad’s bedroom doubled as Dad’s office. Now they both have offices of their own, and a master bedroom that they can really retreat to.
• Allergy relief
  Most of my family suffers from seasonal and/or perennial allergies, making wall-to-wall carpeting a nightmare. Despite tearing out all the carpeting we could (with hardwood floors in a couple of upstairs bedrooms, linoleum in the kitchen and dining room, and cement in the basement), we still had little relief. The living room had only subflooring beneath the carpet–subflooring and mounds of accumulated dust. Now the guest bedroom is the only carpeted room in the house, and allergy sufferers can breathe a little clearer.

My parents never complained that they sacrificed personal space, the opportunity to entertain, the privelege of decorating according to their own taste. They were raising children–and they considered that a high and holy calling. They invested their time, their money, their home, and their lives into us kids. Mom didn’t have time to make quilts when we were growing up–she was too busy clothing us. She didn’t have time to disciple women–she was too busy teaching us. Dad didn’t have money to buy a fancy projection system–he was too busy paying for our living expenses. He didn’t have time to do landscaping–he was too busy with the vegetable garden and fruit trees, feeding us.

I’m so very thankful for my parents, for all they’ve done for us. And I’m so thankful that after all those years of sacrificing for us, they’ve gotten their fancy house.