Painting Shiny Houses with The Children
And I dream.
I dream of Summer days. Sandy toes. Icy drinks. Swimming pools. No schedules.
Forever and a day ago I read this perfect post that had me dreaming as much as a February thaw does. It’s about Shiny Houses and what happens in them.
You know what Shiny Houses are. They’re the ones that we imagine in our minds, hearts and souls. The ones that the mere glimpses of, make us smile no matter what.
No matter how many times we got up last night. Or how many noses we wiped today. Or how many library fines we paid last week.
I have always romanticized living in a yellow house. Until my neighbor shared that yellow houses yield high divorce rates. Come to think of it, she may have just not wanted to live next door to that house. You know, the yellow one.
But at my Shiny Yellow House? Good things happen.
Brie and pomegranate martinis are served daily.
Sweatpants are acceptable wear.
The Children play nicely.
People use the phrase “The Children” and it sounds just right.
Whining is against the law.
Pangs that little hands will grow bigger, my lap will be empty and big kid teeth will grow in never strike.
I can write and “click things” without missing a single moment with The Children.
Jason and I have unlimited time together.
Sleep is plentiful.
There are flowers in every room.
Someone else is in charge of the cooking, cleaning and laundry. Especially the laundry.
All of the friends that I have gathered in the many pockets of my life and corners of the world live next door to me at their very own Shiny Houses.
And every single day our husbands grill together, The Children play together. And we laugh together. Loudly.
Except for Fridays. On Fridays, my Shiny Yellow House is filled to the brim with Shabbat guests. And my challah turns out perfectly. Every single time.
Whenever my Shiny Yellow House pops into my mind I smile. And I want to frame it. And maybe pet it just a little bit.
I want The Children to have their very own Shiny Houses. Because being able to imagine pure happiness? And the ability to basque and revel in magic and fun and whimsy?
Is good. Very, very good.
So today I asked  them about their Shiny Houses.
Focused. Oh-so-very focused.
And Shiny. Oh-so-very Shiny.
Kayli's Shiny Lavender House
Chloe's Shiny Bright Pink Castle
Brody's Shiny Dark Blue House. Up-side-down. Obviously.
Daddy! What’s at your Shiny House? What color is it? What do you do there?
He looked at me for help. Bewildered. Tired. Glittery.
Football? Iphones? Beer? Chili cheese Fritos?
Ahh, yes. He got it.
You would be there, Chlo. Our basement would be a movie theatre. Star Wars would play every single night before bed. And we would have chocolate milk and warm chocolate chip cookies at my Shiny Brown House.
And that’s what happens at our Shiny Houses. And Bright Pink Castle. Our dreams and wishes and magic and smiles.
How about you? What color is your Shiny House? What happens there?
Verklempt.
My Shiny House is blue.
– It cleans itself regularly.
– The shopping is delivered every day.
– I receive free Amazon coupons by email once a week.
– Apple sends me a free computer every two years.
– my nights are free of worries.
– What I need to cook is always stocked in the fridge and in the pantry.
– The people I like (included the ones I have only met virtually) live in the same neighborhood (sorry for stealing this one from you).
– We all attend the same shul where the black hats and those wearing jeans meet and mix quite smoothly.
– We have the most inspiring rabbi.
Shabbat Shalom!
Galit, how do you manage to do it every week?
My shiny yellow house is really just my chaotic red brick one because if I didn’t also have the dull I’m afraid that I wouldn’t appreciate the constant shine. Like a shooting star I think the shine is best noticed in flashes. How else can we say, ‘this was a great day’?
Thank you for another shiny blog post. In my shiny house I would get to read a new one of your shiny posts every day.
Ilana-Davita appears to be living in my Shiny House! The only difference is mine would be purple 🙂
Seriously, I love, love, loved her penultimate contribution more than anything:
“We all attend the same shul where the black hats and those wearing jeans meet and mix quite smoothly.”
If only, hmmm?
Shabbat Shalom!
Thank you for this little injection of magic into my day. I needed it.
What a shiny and illuminating spot of inspiration this Friday, before Shabbat begins.
Shabbat Shalom!
You had me at brie and pomegranate martinis 🙂 I love this post. And also the descriptions your children/hubby gave for what their Shiny Houses would be like. Beautiful and so, so very touching.
Hmmm… in my Shiny House I have a room with a single chair. And all around are white puffy clouds. When I go in, I imagine I’m on an airplane heading anywhere else in the world. On some days, I sit and write. On others, I plug in my ipod and think about arriving at my destination.
I also have a room where I can practice my Bikram yoga without having to be sandwiched next to 69 other sweaty bodies and I can bend and stretch and relax and ease my muscles to my heart’s content.
This is such a feel good post! My shiny house is just like yours except it’s purple like Rachel’s and it has some of the extra amenities described by Ilana-Davita. Although I wouldn’t mind Chloe’s pink castle either…
This post is perfection.
As you can imagine, my Shiny House is always at the forefront of my mind.
I added one more element to it today…to have you as my guest and learn more about you.
Lovely post, lovely sentiment, lovely woman.
This is beautiful and brilliant.
My house is also yellow.
There are floor to ceiling bookshelves, full of books. Cozy chairs big enough for two people to cuddle together and read said books.
It is a house of smiles and laughter and art and joy. It is surrounded by a garden and when the windows are open, the smell of flowers wafts through each room.
In my house, my daughter has her own room, and a golden retriever puppy who sleeps at the end of her bed every night.
There is peace, and room to breathe….but not too much room.
My Shiny House is ALL the colors of the Rainbow, and everyone is young and Healthy and no one gets old or is in physical pain and eating anything you want does not put weight on you, ever—Especially Chocolate!
Oh how I love this!!
Their pictures are just gorgeous. I love how you inspire and encourage their imagination.
Shiny House…yes I’ll be dreaming of mine tonight! Thank you 🙂
I am teary now.
Stopped by from Nichole’s, as I trust her implicitly.
And I am thinking of my shiny (sage green) house.
I am thinking that it took me some forks in the road to find the house.
And the man to share it with me.
But how close my (yellow…uh oh!) house is to my Shiny Green House.
And I love you for writing this.
-Lori
Ooooh, it all sounds wonderful. When I left my house, 4 boys in tow, there was dirty washing up on the counter, remnants of banana loaf and PBJs on the table, socks on the floor. My bedroom was in uproar and I believe towels on the landing.
My husband comes back from 2 weeks international travel today and that is what will face him. What will he think I’ve been doing? He’d better not ask…:-)
I love the kids drew and described their perfect houses. What a wonderful post! My house would have big kitchen and a huge table to eat, work, and play at.
I need one of these! Mine would definitely be purple… and now I think about it, bowls of sweets in every room sounds pretty good, too! 🙂
my real life house is yellow. it’s not shiny but it’s not in need of a paint job yet either.
we are going to defy the yellow house odds!
loved the post.
In my shiny house I wouldn’t have to worry about cleaning, cooking or laundry either. I would have tons of time to read for leisure and bills wouldn’t be an issue. I’d get to come back to Minnesota so I could meet you! I’d get to shop at Bloomingdale’s with no budget (I guess not in my shiny house but you know I mean…). I’d get to read great blogs like yours more frequently and comment more regularly.
Have a wonderful Sunday my friend!
You know what you’ve done to me this morning?
You’ve reminded me to dream.
Why is it that we think we become too old to dream?
This was Perfection.
This just made me smile. Oh, I am partial to lavender. I think my shiny house would be lavender and smell like wood, lavender and lemon but in a subtle way. There would be dinner parties and the dishes would stack and clean themselves, a big fluffy temperature controlled bed, endless berries and red wine, a cute cat that took out it’s own litter box and sweet mister, who liked to cuddle and eat in bed.
Umm… you know what color mine is! And it would be on your street. (We’d have to have two slightly different shades of yellow, maybe with different, but complimentary accent colors?) Everyone I love also lives in the neighborhood. There are oodles of supplies for creative/constructive/fun! activities to do with The Children. There is a family room that is both grand and cozy with plenty of space to gather, snuggle, and chat over coffee. And there is a library—filled with all of the new glossy books that I covet at Barnes & Noble. One shelf will have books all written by you! And another with children’s books all written by me. Love you!
How beautiful is this? I am so going to ask my kid about their shiny yellow house. I’m guessing it doesn’t include a mother sitting at her computer..sigh.
Thank you for the inspiration!
Beautiful! I love this.
It would be warm and sunny everyday.
I would also have time to write and click away and not miss a moment with my children.
We would all sleep cuddled together but we would all actually sleep.
All the cooking and cleaning would be done by Rosie, the robot from the Jetsons.
We would all sing and play lots of instruments, paint, and dance.
This is glorious to think about. Hmmm. So relaxing just to imagine:)
This just made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Your shiny house… regardless of what color it is (Really? Yellow houses have more divorce rates?) sounds absolutely idyllic.
As do the brie and pomegranate martinis. Is there a spot open in your neighborhood?
LOVE THIS POST! I’m already thinking about my own shiny yellow house – and, definitely has flowers, real ones, in every room as well 🙂 The kids drawings and imagination of their shiny houses was precious. Thanks for this post Galit – made my day!
My shiny house would be blue and sit on the ocean with a chef, housekeeper and a masseuse (sp?). Tropical drinks would be plentiful as well as fresh fruit and seafood….mmmm. Did I mention that I would have a personal trainer too so I would be thin….with yoga on the beach.