A Letter To My First House, My “Little Money Pit”

Our first house in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, built in 1928.

Moving day has arrived!  Time to say goodbye to my first house.  This was a great house and served us well.  We bought it as a “fixer upper” in hopes to make it into something amazing, and through the past (almost) 4 years we were only able to do some of the work.  However, we’re leaving a completely different house than we moved into and have high hopes that the new couple moving in will be able to complete the job because it’s a great house that totally deserves it.  At least we were able to make some money with the sale

Dear Home,

Nothing was more exciting for a couple of newlyweds than buying our first house.
I was moving to the suburbs to start my real future with my spouse.
We had been living in a rented apartment and looking high and low
But because of our low budget the houses we saw were just so- so.
I’ll never forget walking into our house for the first time
A house that would have scared others was perfect and had to be mine.
My biggest shock of all was that I didn’t have to beg and plead
For my husband was just as excited as I was and totally agreed
We were both over come with the history and charm
I tried to hold in my excitement and just squeezed his arm
This is where our story was to start
“Our little money pit” we called it and it totally stole my heart.

We would clean her and we’d paint her and we’d make her our home,
A place where friends would gather, a place for little babies to roam.
Little did we know what our future had in store
We’d be cleaning and we’d be painting until our backs were raw and sore.
We had been looking at this house through rose-colored glasses
“Such a great investment” we’d reassure, but still such pains in our asses
As the days and months went by we soon realized our new fate
We’d have to spend every last dollar we made to fix it up and to make it great

Soon we’d get our biggest shock and at first we were all grins
When we found out our expected baby was really a set of twins
Every pending home repair was about to be put on hold
For I’d be staying home with my babies and our bank account would turn cold

Forget about the fact that our kitchen was ancient with red formica countertops
And our refrigerator was so small it could barely store a plate of pork chops
Our bathrooms were original to our 1928 house and had many a leaky pipe
Some windows were drafty even though they were painted shut, but I’m not the type to gripe
You’d be surprised the things you can live with and without when you have no choice
We felt so helpless and scared but we would soon rejoice

This old house is the house that I brought my babies home to
It’s where I heard their first laughs and cries, and their little coos
Where they took their first steps and said their first words
Where they play and sing all day long, sweetest sounds I’ve ever heard
This is the house where we went from a family of two to four
Where we made a house a home, it didn’t matter that we were poor

With all the stress and anxiety that comes with the day-to-day
A feeling of immense gratitude overcomes us and I can honestly say
That now as we’re leaving this house I realize that it taught me what life is about
I feel guilty about the times where I’d feel sorry for myself and pout
With all the crazy stress that this house has caused us
It gave us shelter, kept us warm, and helped us refocus
We now know all about what is most important in life
It’s having happy children, happy husband, happy wife.
A new kitchen and new bathrooms would have been icing on the cake
But material things does not a happy person make
And if I had to live here to learn that important lesson so be it
It wasn’t all bad living in this little money pit

I bless this house with all my heart and I truly pray
That with all its challenges it continues to form families with each passing day
And teach the lessons of life and gratitude that it taught me

and become that beautiful and charming home that I always dreamed she’d be.

I’ll love and miss you always 46 Gilbert Rd!
Love,
Mary Beth