Comfy Lane Cottage…part 2

While my children were growing up, I envisioned that they would one day leave the nest first to start their own homes. That was not the case. One day I met an old acquaintance for a cup of coffee. We attended the same church years ago, and he was friends with my late husband. Over coffee, we shared the paths our lives had taken. Rather quickly, meeting for coffee became our “thing”. There was a definite spark between us!

After a great deal of cleaning and organizing, he finally invited me to his home for dinner.  The grilled salmon was delicious, but the home decor definitely screamed “bachelor pad”.  He was restoring an old 70’s Dodge, and very large car parts were part of his home decor…everywhere!

He lived in an older split-level home, the kind where you enter and have to choose:  go upstairs or down.  I was not a fan of split-levels, much less the old iron railings along the front faux balcony.  I kept those thoughts to myself! Somehow, over time, as our love grew for one another, my heart grew fonder for that once ugly split-level home.  As I pulled into the drive, the shutters seemed charming, and the hearts on the wrought iron balcony were almost romantic.

The home itself had good bones…lots of bedrooms and bathrooms, a big kitchen, two fireplaces, and I loved the large sun room. It was definitely bigger than my home, Little Blue Cottage, and had potential to transform from bachelor pad to family home. Because his home was bigger and the garage contained an ongoing car restoration project, it was  decided for reasons of practicality that we would live as a family in the big bachelor pad; I  was up for the transformation challenge. It just needed a good name to call home.

Two days before our wedding I brought over my first piece of furniture to place on the front stoop, a wicker chair from the porch of Little Blue Cottage. I would definitely miss that big country porch with rocker, wicker chairs, and red swing, where I spent many evenings over more than two decades swinging with my children and waving to the neighbors.  I knew that there would be new memories and traditions to make in our home together…once we got past the wedding and moving in process.  Starting over is hard work!

How do you move into a house that’s already full? The porch and the walls were the only bare places. We had to make room, and things became very cozy rather quickly. My first priority was my daughters’ bedrooms, creating homey havens for them. They were not excited about their new house; they didn’t see my vision…yet. I was determined to create a comfortable place for all, a home. It was a daunting task, finding ways to make it feel like home for my daughters… without changing too much, so my new husband didn’t feel like it was no longer home. It was all about balance and wanting everyone to feel the love. To be honest, we recently celebrated our third anniversary, and I’m still working on it. How does the saying go? “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”…same with a home.

About two weeks into the move, I started thinking about names. A good name for our home, a good reputation, was more important to me than an impressive home. I wanted something with symbolism and depth. My husband had a favorite chair that he fondly called his “comfy chair.” That was his spot…to relax, think, snuggle with the dog, hang out with family, listen to music, snooze, etc.  The way he felt in that chair was how I wanted everyone to feel about my home, my heart…comfortable, loved, at home, a safe and joyful place. I had the first part of the name for our home: Comfy.

I definitely wanted Cottage to be a part of the name; I loved that word and what it represented…warmth on the inside with hardworking outstretched hands. Using Cottage symbolized bringing a part of our old home with us to blend with the new home. I just needed a name to sandwich between Comfy and Cottage. The name Lane, my new name, seemed to fit perfectly.

A lane is a long narrow road. Wouldn’t you know it; we live at the end of a long narrow road! Life is about choices, learning to make the right ones, choosing the strait and narrow…Lane. My husband smiled when I told him the name for our home: Comfy Lane Cottage! It was a good name to call our home.

The other morning I was sipping my coffee and reading outside while the dogs did their business.  I came across an old friend, a favorite proverb: “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches…” Proverb 22:1  Whether home is an elegant estate or a cozy cottage, I invite you to join me in choosing a good name for your home.