ADEQUATE

Tomorrow, I’ll prepare Thanksgiving dinner in our Pullman kitchen. There’s room for only one cook in the narrow space between the two lines of cupboards, but that’s okay–I prefer to work alone. This story-and-a-half structure with its crooked floors and low ceilings is far from a dream house, but it has proved adequate for more than fifty years. I’m thankful for our home.

When Ken quit his hired-man job on his brother-in-law’s farm after seven years, our abode went with the employment. This newly-remodeled dwelling, one of the oldest houses in Durand, was the only one on the market in the village. With three bedrooms, a bath-and-a-half, a living room and an an eat-in kitchen, it would work for the five of us. We had no savings after having been inundated with medical bills without insurance. Durand State Bank provided a car loan of $1,000 on our ’64 Corvair for the down payment, which brought monthly mortgage payments within our budget. We moved in October 23, 1966, the day before Ken began a career with Winnebago County Sheriff’s Police. Linda and Lisa shared the larger of the two upstairs bedrooms with Kurt in the other. Our small boudoir, located beside the front door, accommodates the walnut suite we bought when we married–a double bed, a dresser and a chest of drawers. Four years later, we added a family room and a two-car garage.

After Lisa and Kurt became cops, our house served as collateral for their mortgages on the ranch-style homes they each purchased.

As empty-nester, Ken and I are still content living here. Through the years, we’ve remodeled several times including recently moving the washer and dryer from the cellar to the back porch. In the evenings, we usually watch separate TVs–he’s in the family room and I’m in the living room with the kitchen providing a noise buffer between. The upstairs has become storage space and sometimes the two bathrooms are handly.

What are you thankful for?