20. Changes

Juliana – 28 | Kevin – 39 | Elena – 5 | Matthew – 3.5 | Cecilia –  18 months

One night, I went to bed early. I usually spend my little free time working on my next piece or talking to Mamá and my sisters. Sometimes I’ll bring a book in the bathtub with me. But, that night, I just wanted to lie under my warm blanket and watch the fire until my eyes were too heavy to work. During that precious moment, I had an epiphany. I have real frustrations, but one issue exacerbates many of them. I realized our beautiful home—the place I call our palace in the sky—is a posh prison. I can’t look out my windows and see trees blowing in the wind. I don’t hear birds singing in the morning. Actually, I don’t hear much of anything except the constant low hum of traffic below. We have a backyard, but the grass is fake. My children can’t run into other children on the street. I can’t sit on my porch and watch them play at a nearby park. Going to a park is a huge production; everything is. My time in the city has expired. City living was something I wanted to try as a young, single woman. Now, at almost 30 years old, I have different needs and wants. What I want is to live in a neighborhood. I want to walk around the block without worrying about safety. I want to be closer to the family. And, I want to take my children to a park without having to drive them. I want a real backyard with birds and insects. My children should know the joys of playing in the snow rather than being trapped in the house.

Kevin was nostalgic about leaving our first family home. We shared that house together for a few months before we became parents. From a lonesome twosome to a bustling family of five, we created so many fond memories in that house. Kevin would miss his 15 minute commute. But, change is a part of life, and we desperately needed change at the Garland residence.

I gave him specific instructions for what I wanted in our next home. It needed to be in a central location to all the places we frequent. A neighborhood without a park was a deal breaker. I wanted enough bedrooms to accommodate my family and for the children to still have their own rooms. Style-wise, I didn’t want a large, fancy mansion with marble floors and gold trimming. I just wanted a good sized, nice looking, suburban style home. Kevin looked at me as if I asked him to lasso the moon and bring it to me. He said we would not find a house that large that wasn’t a mansion. When I said we didn’t need a large house, he laughed at me. “Regular sized family homes don’t come with six or seven bedrooms, Juliana.” I asked him to try.

The house he found both blew me away and made me nervous. It was larger than our current house and had hints of the fancy stuff I didn’t want, but the layout was so unique I couldn’t help but fall in love with it. The longer I stayed in the house, the more it grew on me. After we moved in and got settled, I decided the house was entirely perfect.

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  The new Garland residence!

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  Foyer

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  Living room (right of foyer)

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  Kevin’s office (left of foyer)

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  Dining room

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  Master bedroom

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  Juliana’s new studio is in the master suite

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  Master en suite (with his & hers everything lol)

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  Kevin’s walk-in closet

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  Juliana’s walk-in closet

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  Downstairs family room

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  Kitchen

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  Downstairs laundry

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  Guest bathroom

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  Downstairs guestroom (where Mamá stays)

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  Kevin’s beauties in the garage

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  Single car garage turned yoga studio

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  Gym

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  Gym bathroom

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  Cecilia’s room

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  Cecilia’s en suite (yikes…that’s REALLY busy!)

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  Upstairs laundry

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  Upstairs family/play room

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  Elena’s room

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  Elena’s walk-in closet

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  Elena’s en suite

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  Upstairs guest room (where Mara and Vittoria stay)

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  Matthew’s room

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  Matthew’s en suite

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  View of the house from the neighborhood park!

The Newcrest location is perfect for Kevin’s commute. It added 30 minutes, but at least he’s not an hour away like he was in Oasis Springs. We are very close to Hillary and Jase. Not walking distance but a very short drive. We’ve got the family and library in Willow Creek and the gallery in Oasis Springs all roughly 20 minutes away in different directions. The best part is the neighborhood’s park is right next to our house! And, there are two lakes near us.

Elena is loving school and her little sister. She and Abigail are in the same school but they never see each other. I can’t believe Abigail is in the 4th grade already. One more year, and she’ll be done with grade school. And, I’ll be 30! And, Matthew will be ready for school. Where did all of this time go?

One day, Kevin disappeared with my son. It’s not unusual for him to take him somewhere, but he usually tells me where they are going. But, this time, he tried to scoot out of the house without me knowing. When I caught him, he was very vague about their outing. A few hours later, they returned happy and giggly…and with significantly less hair!

He cut my baby boy’s beautiful locks! My three-and-a-half-year-old looked so much older and more like a movie star than my sweet son. And, Kevin cut his facial hair and got a haircut! I was speechless. He looked so young. Even younger than me!

I wondered if he was having some sort of midlife crisis although he wasn’t exactly middle aged yet. I see him in the mirror more often. He probably started seeing gray hairs and decided to hide them. As nice as it is to see his bare face, I hope he grows it back. My poor baby, Cecilia, screamed when she saw him. I don’t know if she didn’t recognize him or didn’t know how else to express her shock. It was kind of funny.