So long, Longbourn

Dear Z. Family,

I suppose this is a bit unusual, to a.) leave any kind of note to the new owners of a home and b.) to just go ahead and post it on a blog, too, but for me, this is essential closure on the walls and the roof that we have called home for the last seven years.

It's also a bit like writing a "Things to Remember" note to the babysitter...

...not to worry, there are no bedtime rules attached, nor emergency contacts, "no snack" lists, or remote control instructions.

Rather, I am leaving you the pertinent stories that these walls hold--the ones they'll never tell that should  be shared.

Let's just get started.

First and foremost, you must know about George.

We purchased this house from the McDuffies (George and Patty), who owned this home for a good fifty years before we did, and George was a biology teacher. The reason they converted the laundry room into a garage? George kept little alligators in the basement--one chased Patty to the steps and she told George if he wanted his laundry done ever again, he'd move the washer and dryer upstairs.

George also had a pet boa constrictor--Louise--whom he let have full roam of the house. He would start baths for Patty, and she'd go to get in, only to find Louise had made herself quite at home in the tub of warm water.

When we excavated the backyard a couple of years after moving in, we expected to find all kinds of wild animal skeletons. It was actually really exciting to start digging.

The best we got was a horse skull. In a garbage can. In the shed.

Not to worry, we've removed that for you.

George also collected license plates (aside from animals). When we initially looked at the house, every wall of the basement (and I literally mean "every") was covered in license plates. One was inadvertently left behind. We've left it downstairs for you. (We already checked--not worth much.) But it's a part of this house and its history.

George passed a few months after we moved in. Every once in awhile you'll get a note from a doctor's office that he's long overdue for a check. Have a chuckle that someone's not very good at record keeping, and don't worry about passing along.

There are also some miscellaneous items--highlights, really--that you should note:

• Spend as many summer nights on the back deck as you can. You can hear just about every Riverbend concert--especially when it's just a little bit overcast--and it is fantastic free entertainment.
• Reds fans? You can also hear the home run and game winning fireworks on about a 10 second delay as they carry down river. 
• The neighbors behind you in the little green house throw a spectacular Halloween party--we were never invited (I don't even know their names) but you should definitely befriend them because it always looked like fun (we're talking huge tent, tons of kids carving pumpkins, beer, bonfires, and fireworks).
• While we are on the topic of Halloween, you should probably only buy one bag of candy...unless you really like candy. We had about eight trick-or-treaters last year...including our own kids...so don't overbuy. 
• We have loved on nearly every inch of this house. Very few things are still from the various eras this house was built and added on to. As we rehabbed, we cursed poor George and Patty for making everything "custom." You just can't rehab custom...cheaply. So as you go and make your own changes, please know we made every effort to make your life a little easier. 
• Our street is always the last to get plowed when it snows. Cambridge is always fine--so don't look out the window and think, "Oh my gosh I'll never make it out!" You will. Just get to the end of the street. Also, Mr. Jim next door is pretty handy with a four wheeler. Not only have we seen him plow snow with it, he's also excavated front yards. He's pretty nice, too. He'll do anything for a six pack of Budweiser. 
• If you turn left out the street and walk to the end of Cambridge, there's a horse farm and a huge pond for fishing. Who knew? Probably not you, which is why I'm sharing. 
• Every once in awhile you'll hear what can only be described as an angry donkey sound. There's a guy up the hill who owns some pretty cool animals, including a zebra that he has tamed. Befriend someone who knows him so you can go check it out--go pet a zebra!
• The HGTV master is pretty spectacular, right? We've revealed secrets about our show in the paper attached to the DVD copy we've left--we decided you should see the full before and after process! 

Lastly, and perhaps most sentimentally, you are reading this on June 24th. In three days, Greg and I will be celebrating our fifth wedding anniversary. 

We used the wedding money we were given to do much of the work on this house...the kitchen you are standing in while reading this, and that amazing backyard.

As a result, we held our wedding reception here.

All of our nearest and dearest friends and family filled this house and its outdoor spaces with love that night. They celebrated us and we celebrated love.

(The AC unit is also five years old...as wedding luck would have it, it died. On our wedding day. Before ninety people came to pack themselves in.)

As Greg and I pack our belongings, and I find myself tearing up on a daily basis, I hold in my heart that home is not so much the walls and foundation, but a feeling we carry inside ourselves wherever we are.

So in addition to that license plate in the basement, we left you a little something else in the fridge.

Crack it open on June 27th. 

Toast us.

Toast you.

Toast this house.

Welcome home.

The Kauffmans