The house on the corner of our street has been sold again. They are busy having a stone floor put in- I don’t know what kind of stone, I’m not that nosy.

I pass by the house 6 times a day as I walk back and forth to The Boy and The Girl’s school. A few times I have seen a young man that I am guessing is the happy new home-owner. He is a pleasant looking man, with a junior executive air about him and seems very excited and proud of his new home.

It is a charming house- the oldest one in town, in fact. There is a dark grey sign by the corner of the house which gives the history of the house. The house is also a part of a walking tour one can make through town- one of those things where you go to the old city hall and pick up a small booklet which gives directions and information about various sights in town. And the house on the corner of our street is one of the things listed as a ‘must see’.

I often pass by large groups of sight-seers – on my way to school- standing in front of that house, listening intently as a tour guide chats about the house.

My guess is that within four years, the house will be up for sale again. You see, it has been sold four times in the last 12 years.

What is wrong with the house ? Nothing, except that it doesn’t have a yard. It has a little -oh- 6 by 6 foot outdoor area ( right behind the street lamp) and that is it. A lot of the older houses in our town don’t have any yard at all.

What has happened, every time, is this. A young, usually double income couple moves in. After a little more than a year, a pink or blue balloon on the door announces the birth of the first child. About two years later, the for sale sign goes up again, but shortly before the house is actually sold, another pink or blue balloon appears on the door. And then the house is sold, to another young couple.

We were like that when we bought our house : the young, double income couple, no kids. But we were dog people, dog people in that way that you can only be before you have kids. Gotta have a yard for ‘the boys’. So we have a nice ( by the standards in our town) size yard, and will never have to move for that reason.