You can’t believe it’s been almost a year since your Dad passed. You miss his phone calls, his homemade cards, and his stories about meeting Elvis Presley. You were never sure if those stories were true or not, but you loved how animated he got when he told them. As hard as his passing has been for you, it’s been even harder for your Mom, which is why you decided to have her come live with you. Being a single mom hasn’t been easy for you and it will be nice to have someone around to help out with the kids.

You built this particular Bungalow because it’s disabled friendly. Now, with your Mom getting older and living here full time, it’s a relief that she can age gracefully in your home.

You loved your main floor master suite – felt like a queen every time you went to bed – but gave it to your Mom and moved upstairs into one of the 3 bedrooms. Your oldest son, Kevin, wasn’t thrilled to have to move in with his little brother and asked why you couldn’t move in with your daughter, Becky. When you explained that mothers get to have their own rooms, he proclaimed loudly that “life isn’t fair”. You agreed that no, life isn’t fair, until you become a parent and get to make all the rules.

And speaking of rules, there were going to be some new ones about the hours of operation for the upstairs playroom as you don’t want to be awakened by ninja noises at 6AM on a Saturday. You’ll most likely have to finish part of the basement so they can play and you can have peace.

There will likely be little peace in the media room as you know your Mom will want to watch old Judy Garland movies and the kids will want to watch Star Wars. If only Judy Garland had played Princess Leia, that would solve a lot of problems.

You don’t know why but you suddenly flash to Christmas and see the stockings hung above your lovely fireplace. The holidays will be hard this year with your Dad gone, but this home is so warm and cozy at Christmas, you’ll all still manage to have a wonderful holiday.