Cottage Dreams

We went to spend the afternoon with some friends yesterday. Their house perches on the edge of a marsh with a view of Matanzas Inlet in St. Augustine. It was almost a doll's house, with one small bathroom, a tiny galley kitchen and two bedrooms. It was the view made the house seem larger than it was. A wall of windows with a sweeping view of the inlet was a perfect trade-off for it's cramped size.

I remember reading a self-help book a few years back when I was in the process of re-constructing my life. One exercise was to describe your dream house in vivid detail, down to the dishes that were in your cupboards and the plants in your yard.

I described a house I had actually dreamed about. I often had dreams of living with my now husband in a small Craftsman like cottage, in an town to be decided on at a later time.

The cottage had a front porch with two rockers, a swing on one side, flower filled planters and wind chimes. The front yard had almost no grass. It was a series of flower beds with lots of colorful wildflowers.

The interior of the house was bright and airy. The polished wood floors were covered with faded oriental rugs. The furniture was chosen specifically for comfort and a piano stood in one corner. Book shelves lined the walls and a fireplace of natural stone had chairs positioned on either side.

The kitchen had opened shelves that held mismatched dishes, and pots hung from the ceiling.

A glassed in back porch was where we ate our meals on a scrubbed pine table. In one corner was a screen and behind it was my "office."

Down the path way was an old garage converted into a studio for my husband. The backyard had several raised garden beds where we grew vegetables and herbs.

I cannot help but notice how my "dream house" has changed over the years. The house I currently occupy was my dream home ten years ago. It was the first house that we were able to chose without the added stress of moving across the state. The neighborhood was full of families with children. My kids had playmates for the first time.

But, the dream home did not sustain the dream family. The house did not save the crumbling marriage. What looked perfect from the outside, was rotten at it's core.