Monday we closed on the house. As with most closings, the other side didn't have their stuff together. Still, we pushed and they came through. Today the realtors took the sign off our front lawn. That's the first time since I think last April that we haven't had a sign up there.

I'm really happy about the house. I don't think I've got time to actually do anything, but I'm really happy. It's never been a big thing on my list to own a house. Everyone I know goes on about the joy of equity and the pride of ownership, and those perceptions don't interest me. The real benefits as far as I'm concerned are 1) we don't have to move for a long time, 2) I can finally start investing a little time and energy into the property, and 3) I don't have to live in a place where all the walls are white.

This last one is the real prize. Since I finished college, all of my apartments and all of the houses I've rented have had white walls in every room. It's like some universal landlord pact to drive the tenants mad. Jean and I are trying to figure out which room we want to paint first. Then we'll have to figure out what colors we want.

Another nice thing about living where we are is the location. We're a block and a half from the James River. Since the University is just on the other side of the river, I can walk home from work. I've done this (and written about it) off an on in the past, but today I began what I hope will be a routine of walking home from campus every day. The walk is good for me physically and spiritually: it's an hour away from chairs and computers and daily concerns.

I think I'm going to like it here. I tend to be the kind of person who can be happy anywhere, but this house (as much of a "fixer-upper" as it is) has potential. We'll make the ugly kitchen go away. We'll tear up the front yard and get some grass growing where the moss has taken hold. We'll get the ivy spreading again in the back yard, leaving enough room for Colette to have a nice play space. Colette will grow up here, and Jean and I will settle into middle age.

Home. It's where I want to be.

But I guess I'm already there.