Be Careful What You Wish For…

Do you really want what you think you want?

The year before my Christmas Stroke — the big old stone house I’d always wanted

In the late 1970s I had a friend who was my exact opposite. She was tall and willowy. I was tall and, well…not willowy. She had long dark blonde hair and I had short dark hair. She lived in an old house in the country that was full of antiques and I lived in a half a double on a busy street.

In 1978 I wanted to be Barbara Smith. Barbara took me to flea markets and taught me how to auction. I started to collect Depression glassware. My husband was not thrilled with me bringing all this “junk” into the house. I loved antiques and I wanted to collect them. He loved contemporary and wanted me to stop. But I didn’t –that is I stopped collecting when I got a divorce and became the single mom/sole support of my daughter.

I still wanted to be Barbara — I lost weight and let my hair grow. But I was never willowy. I couldn’t afford an old house in the country filled with antiques until I married into it at the ripe old age of 64.

Getting that dream

I have a large stone house (a stone on the front says 1856) in the middle of three acres. My husband loves to collect and yes: We have antiques — all over the house, to the point where we have to set something out in a shed if we want to make room for other stuff. My husband is warned about flea markets: “We don’t…