I don't know what exactly it is about my neighborhood that I love so much, but I feel so alive and happy here! I live right near the center of town and this area is classified as inner city, but you wouldn't know it when you're standing in the middle of it. Handsome, mature trees towering over the road. Interesting architecture... Victorians, bungalows, Colonials, cozy older cottages like mine. I love that we're not completely WASPy here like the rest of Knoxville is; for example, on my quiet dead-end street we have young families, black kids and white kids who actually play together, widowed retirees, lesbians, Goth teenagers. People are constantly outside gardening, sitting on their porches, jogging, or walking their dogs. It is a rare occasion that we go for a walk and don't bump into someone who knows us and stops to chat.
Tonight, we strolled down side streets, cut through Edgewood Park, and spent some time puttering around the library. After that we walked to Sonic, and enjoyed a refreshing cherry limeade before taking another scenic route home. We walked the street in front of our house instead of coming from behind as usual, and I then spent some time watering the flowers and reflecting on the changes in our home since we bought it.
This place had ZERO curb appeal the first time I ever saw it. Scraggly bushes, no trees, very plain and miserable looking. Then I realized... what a great blank canvas I have in this house. It WILL be cute by the time I'm done. We added dark green shutters, planted trees, replaced the icky bushes, landscaped around the front and side, added flowerboxes in the windows and an American flag, and boom! It has "Amber" written all over it.
Someday, probably too soon, we will have to move. Our house is too small for a growing family, and the hubby and I both agree that we want some land and more privacy than what our urban nook currently offers. I will deeply miss this place, though, and I have been immensely proud to call this neighborhood my home.
