Homecoming

Last Friday, as I was frantically trying to finish an extremely tedious mailing (I have a mailing service - Alpha Omega) someone rang the doorbell.  I figured it was more mail to do.  I reluctantly answered the door as the gentleman was walking away from my front door.  I noticed that he had a camera in his hand.

"Hi - can I help you?"

"Oh," he said, "I used to live in this house and I thought I would drop by and say hello.  The house looks great."

I explained that I was tied up at the moment, otherwise I would certainly invite him in.  He nodded, seemed to understand and said well, thanks anyway. 

I returned to my dining room table, where I was in the process of stuffing and sealing 3,000 envelopes where my husband was working next to me, helping me.  I briefly told him of my conversation and he said, "You should let him in."   He had good reason to say what he did:  when returning to his grandfather's house in Wheaton with the original plans, upon knocking on the door, hoping to be invited in, the owner said, "Thanks," took the plans and shut the door.    So, I thought to myself, he's right.  I should invite them in.

I walked to the front door and was able to catch the man and his wife just as they were getting back into their car.

"Folks, if you would like to come in......" I yelled from the front porch.

His face lit up - they came back up onto the porch and walked in the front door.  He looked around.

I gave them the tour - the entire house.  He told me where he kept his toys (in the bottom drawer of the breakfront in the dining room - his brother kept his toys in the next drawer up) - how they used to hide in the closet beneath the attic stairs that is in the bathroom.  He recalled having taken baths in the tub and where the window was - with a slanted roof.  The tub is still here, original to the house - it is stamped on the bottom 'December 19, 1908' -

As the couple walked through the house, the man's love of his former home was evident.  Though the house has changed a lot through the years, the bones are still the same.

Bob Bowman and his wife Nancy were in town from California for his 50th high school reunion from Lyons Township High School.  - Class of 1960.  Bob Bowman and his family lived here from 1946 until the mid 1950's.  Bowman was four years old at the time and the family moved when he was fourteen years old .  This house is still important to him.

"You know," he said as he was walking down the porch steps, "we moved close to here when I was a freshman in high school - just a few blocks away.  But that was just a house - this always was home to me."