Homeless231

We made it in one last time for brunch Sunday morning before church…and got to bring the whole family. Saying goodbye to our Home 231 friends was sad.

I know it sounds goofy, but we really are going to miss you all.

It really does seem like we are going to a funeral. At a funeral, you see the people that you know well, people you love, and people you only see infrequently. We would have all of our kids with us: Josiah, Kaylin, and Quincy. The ones we love. There might be people at other tables who we’ve seen before only in the restaurant. Or, maybe even those we know from the community or work. They are also there to celebrate the past and mourn the loss for the future. We would see some for the last time. At a funeral there is the loss of something that was before. Certainly, that was the case; our place, where Sam tended bar, Norm occupied his normal stool, Cliff was welcomed by name, and Carla brought the food.  Everything has an end.

Shonda and I are people who love God and do our best to follow Jesus. So, when we go to a funeral the sadness is sometimes softened when we had seen the fruit of a Christian life in the person who died. We know we will see them again in heaven. We know their “life” from here on out will be unburdened by the terrible things that happen on Earth. While there is no exact equivalent in the closing of Home 231, we hope very much that we have been an example for how people should treat each other, what marriage can be like if you sacrifice yourself to the other person, and even what parenting can be like. We also hope very much we will see you elsewhere. We hope the workers from Home 231 will find good work and live good lives. We are headed in for brunch, happy funeral!

So, this is where it started.  Yep, 19 years old, just finished sophomore year of college—wildly in love, but knowing nothing about what those wedding vows really meant.  Fast forward, college graduation, move back to Pennsylvania from Boston, first real jobs, 1^st house, 1^st baby boy, buy and run a business together, buy 2^nd house, 2^nd baby boy, homeschooling, law school—wait, what??  Law School—that was not part of the plan!  I was a full-time stay-at-home, homeschooling mama (ie NO INCOME).  How was this going to work?  Boys are 2 & 7.  

We own a business in our hometown of Mifflinburg, PA (60 miles from Harrisburg).  Well, here goes.  August of 2005, Joe starts Law School at night at Widener in Harrisburg while working full-time running an Erie Insurance Agency and driving 120 miles round trip 3 nights/week.  Not sure what you know about Law School, but you have to do the reading;). These very circumstances are what I remember as the reason date night became of paramount importance.  Since we started dating at the age of 16, Joe and I have always spent large portions of time together.  We like each other, enjoy the same things, understand each other, need each other.  All of a sudden, we were seeing each other minimally (like minutes/day) for the first time since freshman year of college (I was at Penn State; he was in Boston for freshman year, which we quickly remedied for sophomore year.)  In addition to seeing each other minimally, pressures were running high.  We were raising and educating two precious boys, trying to pay bills, keep a business afloat, run a house…you get the picture.  This is when I remember us making “date night” of the highest priority.  We needed that 2 hours to connect, debrief, and just look at each other and be together.  I got to do my hair, put on cute clothes and makeup, and just be Joe’s girl, instead of a mom, housewife, bill payer, teacher, etc.  It was not fancy—we had no $$.  We would often go across the street to the “Scarlet D” a bar/restaurant catty-corner from our house in Mifflinburg.  

We could walk (no gas $), shorter time to get a babysitter (often a grandparent), and it was fairly cheap.  Food was mediocre; beer was as expected.  It didn’t matter.  We were desperate for this time together.  This was our attempt at surviving as a couple despite the grueling week ahead.  This is how our habit of  “date night” was born. 

In the beginning…ok, we are going to try to keep to the less melodramatic. We are writing a blog from a Janus point of view. Looking forward, we’d like to share the search for a new restaurant where we hope to spend every Saturday night. Looking back, we will try to make a case for why our date nights, and specifically the two hundred fifty-odd of them we spent at Home 231, matter.