Dear Reader,
Rachel Fordham started writing when her children began begging her for stories at night. When she'd pull a book from the shelf, they'd insist she make one up. Finally she paired her love of good stories with her love of writing, and she hasn't stopped since. Rachel lives with her husband and children on an island in the state of Washington. Her new release is The Hope of Azure Springs.
Rachel loves to hear from readers, so please email and welcome her to the book club. Email: [email protected]
Green Gables, Thornfield Hall and Longbourn. All great houses have names. Perhaps not all, but a lot of the greatest houses have gorgeous names. There's just something about a house with a name that is charming, don't you think?
When we moved into our current home we decided that it also needed a name. This new house was a faux Victorian that was full of character. Heavy drapes, a porch with decorative trim and a finial up on top of its steep roof. A house like this needed a fitting name. As a family, we agreed to each think up a name that we thought matched the home and what we wanted to have take place therein. Then we agreed that we would all meet and in true diplomatic fashion vote.
The night of the "naming" came and a few of the choices presented were Big Charlotte, The Fun House and The Fordham House. Anyone considering naming their house might want to learn from my experience and not let young children make suggestions. I'd presented the name Green Haven. We all pled our case. The arguments were persuasive, "I like the name Charlotte" and "it's fun here." When my turn came I stood in front of the table full of little people and my husband and said that it was green and beautiful here but that green also meant young and unbroken. More than anything, I wanted this house to be a safe haven for children. A place where they could run through the woods, ride bikes and then come inside and curl up and read with me.
My audience nodded along as I spoke. Then we voted and everyone voted for their own suggestion. We voted again and this time my generous husband voted for my suggestion. By a narrow lead of one vote our house was dubbed Green Haven. There were a few moans and groans but everyone came around and now over four years later we still refer to our home as Green Haven.
It's a fitting name even if the process of deciding had not been as smooth as we'd hoped. But this home has truly been a place where our children have been safe to play and be little. It's truly been our Green Haven.
The next time you hear of a house with a great name know that the naming of it may not have been as romantic as you imagine it to have been! But, I'm still a believer that great houses ought to have names.
-- Rachel Fordham
email: [email protected]
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
Comments