House Anniversary/ANZAC Day

Today is the 19th anniversary of my moving into our current house. I moved in on the hottest April 25th ever in Iowa City, 92 degrees. I closed at 8:30 AM and moved 7 pickup loads from my apartment in downtown Iowa City to the house. Every load went down a complete flight of stairs out of the apartment and then up a complete flight in the front of the house shown above. (The house did not look that good then) I had two friends helping me, Dave Marsh and Steve Nicknish. Nick died 6 months later in a fall while camping.

After moving the first thing I did that night was take the storm windows off the porch and sit out and play my banjo and guitar. The first song I played was Eric Bogle's "And the Band Played Waltzing Mathilda." The song is the most powerful anti-war piece I've ever heard. It tells the story of an Aussie WWI soldier, in the Australia-New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who was part of the assault on Gallipoli, Turkey. The battle began April 25, 1915, and resulted in the needless slaughter of nearly a generation's worth those countries men. ANZAC Day is celebrated today and is Australia's equivalent of our Veteran's Day.

Today's house anniversary is nearly as bittersweet. We accepted an offer to sell on Saturday, and while we are excited to move to Foxcroft, I will be leaving the house in which I've spent nearly half my life. This is where I brought home my bride. This is where she and I brought home our children. This is where we have gathered with friends and family to celebrate holidays and successes. This is where we met to go to Nick's funeral.

I didn't intend to write all this when I sat down, but sometimes that's what happens. I will miss this place...