Past Houses

As I continue to tweak the plans for a house which I can not possibly afford at this time, I think of why I want such a simple, light filled house. The reason must be that my parents' continued to collect trinkets, antiques, and otherwise useless objects, balking spending time with us or money for our post-secondary educations. The book "House Thinking" has helped me vocalize what I felt and knew inside, but struggled to pinpoint. Now with two separate households full of dusty antiques, my parents still seem to not understand that that stuff was a direct competition for our attention as children. Spending houses driving places, walking through stuffy and musty attics and shops let me have an appreciation for the past, but not for what that time and money could have been better spent on. The "stuff" I have is books, Cd's, DVDs, and a comparatively small few items that have actual connection to my past. My father has made several wood based objects recently. My mother made several plaster pieces decades ago for family that has since died. I see these few items as a connection to the dead family members more than my mom, even though she made them. Even though I am not Catholic, there is a simple statue of the Virgin Mary, a whiskey container in the fashion of a southern gentlemen, complete with hat (the stopper), pocket watch, and cigar. These two items were in my paternal grandparents' house. Another is a Christmas tree with a light in it that was at my maternal grandmothers' apartment. The connection to my childhood is now my son's, the Lego bricks. I have very few trinkets from college, some t-shirts that my wife lovingly framed. The focus on time spent at a football game, a walk in the park, throwing the Frisbee, a good glass of bourbon or wine is invaluable to the physical objects that can clutter a home. I understand that some things are needed for living, but make them select, high quality, high emotional items. I prefer a mind full of old memories than a house full of old stuff. I want to provide my children with a great single house as soon as possible.