Home is where the heart is 💕💕

With Nina and Jay getting their keys yesterday to their first home, it made me think of mine and Kevin’s first home and our subsequent ones too.

We bought a 2 bedroom flat in Sutton, Surrey and Kevin moved in on 19th February 1982. I still lived in Essex at the time until we married in the October. We had furniture and other fixtures given to us by family, until we could afford to replace them. Our first attempts at decorating were a mixed bag but we made it home, and the joy when we replaced each item was great!

In 1985 we decided to move over to Essex as property in Surrey was so much more expensive, and we bought a 3 bedroom semi detached house in Queens Park, Billericay. We made many memories there, and we brought our first born back there in 1988. We made special friends too, and perfected my decorating skills.

We always used to drive past our road and say ‘wouldn’t it be great to live there one day’ and on the 16th March 1990 that dream came true, although we experienced challenges of major surgery, redundancy, Kevin losing his Dad, and a new job all in the space of 8 weeks. It was a tumultuous time, but we got through it, in no small measure due to our home, our sanctuary.

In the 28 years we have lived here we have knocked down walls, turned a staircase around, built walls, had 2 bathroom and kitchen refurbishments, various colour changes and two more children!

We have housed two fish, four cats and numerous ‘friends’.

We both have had job changes, some forced, some by choice.

I view our home as a haven, a place to rest, to enjoy company of friends and family. Our door is always open and a warm welcome awaits.

From how hard Nina and Jay have worked today it bodes well for them to build the same 👍🏻

A house is bricks and mortar; a home is where you feel safe, comfortable and where your heart is. It is defined by the people you share it with, the laughter , the tears and the memories you make !