July 10

Thirty-four years ago in May, Rick and I were married in Illinois.  Soon afterward we ran away to Madison, Wisconsin.  In all those years, we've lived in just three places on the west side of town.  We lived 11 years in half of a duplex with our landlady, Millie, living in the other half.  Both of the girls were born while we lived there.

We then moved to a neighborhood closer to the University and the girls' Catholic grade school.  It was a wonderful two bedroom/one bathroom home on a block with delightful neighbors whom we still count as dear friends.  After grade school the girls went to the public high school just a block from our house.

After 17 years, we moved to our current home while Anne was in grad school and Eileen in college.  Most people down size at this time of their lives, but we upsized to three bedroom/three bathroom townhouse.  It gave us plenty of space for children or elderly parents to join us as needed.  So far only the girls have come and gone, but the extra space has worked very well for us.

Six months after we moved in, I needed a hip replacement.  This would have been extremely difficult in our old house with the only bathroom on the second floor.  With the first floor bathroom here, my recuperation was a snap.  Rick regularly works from his office here at home on the lower level utilizing much of the additional space down there.

One of the best parts of this house though is that, no matter the season, strapping young men come and make outside work happen.  They shovel snow, cut grass, rake leaves, trim trees, paint, upgrade, and maintain....  Mary

House Number 2