The Yellow House

He hated our new house.


Every time we pulled into the driveway, he would lament the change of abode. “Mommy, I want to go back to our white house. I don’t like this house, Mommy…”. I would respond with how blessed we were to have a home, how pretty this and that were, how great his room was, etc. He didn’t buy in. Boy 2 never liked the yellow house while we lived in it. 


Fast forward to today. This year we bought a new house after moving back to Texas almost two years ago. That same Boy 2 said he wanted an old one-story house, with big trees. That is what we ended up with, coincidentally. This house fit his list perfectly. Unfortunately, that revelation has yet to sink in his sweet little head.


He says he wants to move back to the yellow house.


It would be easy to point to this and make some sort of character lesson out of it. It would even be strangely satisfying to make him understand that he is double-minded, that maybe no house will ever be as comforting as his memories of the last one. A lesson in contentment seems at hand, perhaps….


But all I can think is how he is just like me. These souls of ours remember the best parts of the past, while we easily forget the painful parts of seasons that have fallen behind us. With a few exceptional highs and horrifying lows, today’s problems seem like mountains that require too much faith. The troubles of yesterday and those of tomorrow are no different.


The white stone house had mortar that was falling apart, and an inefficient heater. The yellow house had a bedrooms so loud, it was impossible for any of us to sleep late, and the living room was poky and awkward. The house before those was too far from the office, with smoke detectors that went off randomly at night.


Today a contractor is here to fix a leak in the bathroom wall that has caused a mold problem. The master bath has fixtures that date back to the late seventies or early eighties (not the most stylish time in bath design, by the way). The carpet in the bedrooms is stained, the windows aren’t energy efficient, and the front door is old and drafty. But every time I look around, I can’t help but think this: