Home is Where the Heart Is

There is this house in Hartville that has seen better days.

It's a rather large house but it's not flashy. It can easily go unnoticed. If you look past its fading, chipping paint, overgrown grass and shrubs, and cracked windows, you can tell that it once was beautiful, and could be beautiful again.

You can tell that someone once loved it and that it unwittingly but unconditionally loved back. Its walls must have lovingly bared pictures and holiday decorations and been witness to family gatherings and mother to family heirlooms. It was once, maybe not so long ago, filled with laughter and light and love.

Now it appears hauntingly empty. You get the feeling that whoever left it didn't do so willingly. It was some tragedy that forced them out, and their only option was to leave the empty shell behind. Its only hope for improvement is the Howard-Hanna sign perched in the front lawn. Maybe someday soon it will rally and become a home again, instead of just a house.