I heard you outside our house yesterday
On the sidewalk,
Walking your overpriced dogs and ignoring your overachieving children.
I heard you say our house was a “real fixer-upper”.
Well you know what I say?
I say our house was built 100 years before you had even popped into the world
Your face already pinched up like a pompous Persian cat.
And I say our home has housed more joy, pain, and love in one week
Than you have felt in your entire life.

And so what if it’s in need of a little paint here and there
And the grass could use some water
And the roof could be patched up a bit?
So what if we don’t have petunias the color of your pastel cardigan
Or a shiny new coat of paint as thick as your makeup
Or ceilings as high and mighty as your ego?

I’ll tell you what we do have.
We do have flowers I planted with my mother a few years back,
that come back each year
rain or shine.
We do have a porch swing that’s carried the weight of 3 generations
and a rocking chair I remember climbing into at 2 years old.
And we do have a family who loves this house almost as much as we love each other.

So next time you go calling our house a “real fixer-upper”,
Walk in my shoes for a day
And see if you would change one brick
Paint one wall
Or erase one memory.