This house is old. It sits on a relatively busy street near downtown Raleigh, and probably doesn't have the most updated kitchen appliances. The closets might be too small. That "flexspace/den" is a little weird. But, overall, it's got something, right?
While not state-of-the-art, the kitchen has hosted countless Thanksgivings, a million family meals, and was the epicentre of multiple Christmas Eve Eve parties in the mid-2000s. The counters have been absolutely covered in flour, giant drips of caramel icing have flowed over their edges onto the floor. You'll do homework on that kitchen counter, then apply for jobs there, then do your taxes on them. You'll come back and visit your parents and will set up your "work from home" office on that counter. The cabinets house champagne flutes that have been brought out in celebration, a million kitchen gadgets, and Koozies from a million weddings. That kitchen has seen rock bottom, but it's also seen the highest highs. It is the perfect meeting place.
The downstairs bathroom has a wonky knob - you'll definitely get stuck at some point. Don't fix it. It will lead to the funniest stories of friends missing for hours or climbing through the front window. Make sure to time your bathroom trips around the mailman's schedule. You'll figure out what I mean soon.
You might think the front door is the main entrance, but it's not. That side door is where you'll come in and out on a daily basis, where you'll greet almost all guests. You'll run out that door on your way to New Year's Eve parties, or grocery store runs, or a tennis matches. If you're like us, you'll look up and see friends and family walking through that door, not even bothering to knock.
The back porch. It's the most perfect back porch. With the plastic walls and gas fireplace, you can open Christmas presents in your pajamas on that back porch - and you definitely should. It's been the site of birthday parties, baby showers, even a wedding reception. I'm sure, if you look hard enough in the mulch over by the bar, you'll find a beer tab buried down deep. There's a bird that nests in the shelves over the bar - she's resourceful and determined and no matter how much you try, she'll still build her nest up there. The chirping of tiny chicks is worth the mess.
The backyard once had a pool, and it's easy to imagine reckless 6th graders swinging from a tire swing hanging from the giant Oak tree into the shallow end. Now, all that's left is the concrete deck and wood-burning fireplace, arguably the best part. The magnolia tree climbs like stairs, and if you climb all the way up you can see over the roof of the house and into the neighbor's yards below.
So, you might not see it at first. But this house has been lived in, and loved, and it has loved right back. It could love you back, if you let it.