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A Bittersweet Move

This year we sold our house of 24 years. We began building it in 1982 and moved in in 1984. We had two children at the time, Theresa (4) and Patrick (2). In 1986, Nick came along.

It began as a few sketches and dreams, and the idea that we might be able to live mortgage free by building ourselves by accepting only what we could afford, when we could afford it.

And so we began with our equity from our house sale when we left Arizona and constructed a 24 x 24 ft 1 1/2 story house on 2 1/2 acres of woods in Milford, NH. As our family grew, so grew our house; the pictures you will view in the movie below show the passage of time, not only in our children's faces, but also in the face of the house

This summer I wrote a song and would like to share it with all of you. The song is part of the movie, but I also have posted it separately as an mp3, in case you haven't the time, inclination, or software required to view the Quicktime movie. The lyrics are below as well.

People are more important than places, but none can deny the power of place and the importance of memory. Some of you will have experienced the same thing and will feel a tug of nostalgia; others can imagine and empathize. In either event, I offer this memory as a holiday gift to all of my friends.

Best wishes, Jane

Download Quicktime Movie (8.8 mb) here

or view it at

You Tube

Seasons (song only -- mp3)© Jane Fallon 2006


Seasons
(lyrics)
Jane Fallon (c) 2006

A sign went up today that said For Sale.
I saw it on the drive when I went out to get the mail.
I sorted through my letters then went upstairs to see
exactly what I’ll give away of all my memories.
A popsicle stick from the day that he turned three.
Half a plastic trophy from her first spelling bee.
A favorite Dr. Seuss book, dog-eared worn and stained--
I remember how he cried the day he left it in the rain,
and the seasons turn, turn, turn.
Leaves fall, snow flies, winds blow.
Seasons of laughter, love, and tears.
Will they know, when I go, I was here?

Out there in the woods behind a tree
Davy Crockett and Injun Joe are laughin’ back at me.
And there’s a fairy princess on the garden swing.
But the people who’ll move in here, they won’t see a thing.
I guess I’ll tell the realtor, if it’s not too late.
The place where the grass won’t grow, you see, that’s just home plate.
And the dent in the siding that’s the right field wall
but the people who’ll move in here, might not care at all,
and the seasons turn, turn, turn.
Leaves fall, snow flies, winds blow.
Seasons of laughter, love, and tears.
Will they know, when I go, I was here?

At the bottom of the stairs he cracked his head
the day that he thought his tiny walker was a sled.
And the marks on the wall are from the walker
where I rocked him while he cried . . . thought he might have died.
But the people who’ll move in will want repairs.
So I will mend the hole at the bottom of the stairs.
And I will paint the wall and when I’m through
the people who’ll move in here will think it looks like new
and the seasons turn, turn, turn.
Leaves fall, snow flies, winds blow.
Seasons of laughter, love, and tears.
Will they know, when I go, I was here?