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What Makes a House a HOME ~ Portsmouth New Hampshire or Anywhere

By
Real Estate Agent with RE/MAX Shoreline - NH and Maine NH and Maine Broker

my dad harold cummings

I grew up all over the country.  My dad was an officer in the Air Force, which meant we moved when the government told us to, no matter whether we wanted to or not.  And I can assure you that neither I nor any of my sisters wanted to move every time we did - but we did. 

I've no doubt we were a tad bit bratty at times over some of those moves - I'm pretty sure we were, and I recall a certain time when I know I was.  It just got to be really hard to move the older we were.  Moving during high school years was the worst!

But, having said all that, wherever we lived, that was HOME to us.  We lived mostly in base housing, and that was never all that special.  What WAS special was the way my mom made each and every house that we called ours, for however a temporary time it was, OUR HOME.

 Family Picture - Cummings Family

No matter what base, no matter what state, no matter how nice or not-so-nice that house we got was, it was OUR HOME.  My parents loved us so much, and made every effort in the world to provide my sisters and I with a place to call home - full of love, fun, family times, memories, and of course all the other growing up stuff that goes on - fights with each other, hair-pulling, you name it - we did it, just like most other siblings.

 

 

Christmas 2003 


My mom made the most wonderful homes for us!  We were very fortunate that my mom was a stay-at-home mom, which really is just about the hardest job in the world.  We always had homecooked meals, made with loads of love, no matter what the food was.  She took great care in caring for all of us - me, my sisters and my dad.  She loved us fiercely, that's for sure.

 

 


By the time I graduated from high school, we had moved 15 times - FIFTEEN times.  That meant boxes piled high, unpacking all that stuff, having to get adjusted to yet another new school, having to make new friends (which was very hard for me as I was painfully shy growing up, still am to some degree), getting settled in, and then moving again before we wanted to. 


Sometimes those moves involved going back to a base where we'd already lived at one point.  But even though we'd already lived there once, most of the people we knew then had been transferred, so we really started all over again with friends and adjusting.My Mom and Dad



All through every single one of those moves, my mom was a real trooper.  Our HOME meant our mom and dad to us - they were there for us all the time, and we always knew that.  No matter where we lived, no matter what we had done, they loved us through thick and thin.  And we were quite the mischievous group of kids, individually and together.


Our HOME was home to a lot of our friends growing up, too.  They all loved coming to our house to hang out, even if we weren't home.  They just all seemed to love being around my mom.  I can remember many a day when I'd finally get home from some after school thing, and there would be several of our friends, just hanging out with my mom. 




What was HOME to us growing up - MY MOM, MY DAD, MY SISTERS - and ALL THAT LOVE...... no matter where in the country we were living.  It still is that to each of us now, no matter where each of lives now. 

Family Pics



HOME is NOT the four walls within which you live, HOME is all that makes up your life and who you share it with.

 

 No Place Like Home

 

And we are the luckiest family in the world!  Our HOME is with us wherever we are..........

 







Read more posts about What Makes a House a Home

                     Ann and Bear                    




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  Ann Cummings, Maine and New Hampshire REALTOR
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  Portsmouth NH
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  Servicing the Coastal Areas of NH & Southern Maine                    REALTOR



                                     Ann Cummings New Hampshire REALTOR

                             

                                                                                               

Posted by

Ann CummingsREALTOR, e-PRO, GRI, CBR

Ann Cummings and Jim Lee formed a team in July of 2010.
Each bring over 30 years of successful real estate experience to the table so with Ann and Jim you truly do get two Realtors for the price of one. We’re dedicated to delivering exceptional service to you our clients and customers; past, present, and future.

Jim LeeCRS, ABR, GRI, e-PRO

Comments (43)

Sue Argue
Staged First Impressions - Hampton, NH
NH Home Stager

Ann, good job on "What Makes a House..." post.

I thought I was going to see alot of killer Portsmouth pictures in here.

That's a lot of moving!

Is that a "Bear hug" in the lower picture? 

May 24, 2007 09:25 AM
Ann Cummings
RE/MAX Shoreline - NH and Maine - Portsmouth, NH
Portsmouth NH Real Estate Preferrable Agent

Hey Sue - I thought about doing a Portsmouth Home post, but this one came to me and I just did it!  That is, indeed, a "Bear hug" in that picture.  I couldn't do a post about HOME with it being all about who you share you life with without including him!!     ;-)

Thanks for reading!
Ann

May 24, 2007 09:37 AM
Ann Cummings
RE/MAX Shoreline - NH and Maine - Portsmouth, NH
Portsmouth NH Real Estate Preferrable Agent

I just noticed this was a featured post - thanks for my gold star!!

                                      Ann Cummings

May 24, 2007 09:39 AM
Danny Smith
DISCOVER TEXAS HOMES - Round Rock, TX
Ann a great post to include all you family with us. Sometimes we not only forget to thank the men and women that protect us, but we probably always forget to thank their family's as well. Because they serve our country as well.
May 24, 2007 11:08 AM
Ann Cummings
RE/MAX Shoreline - NH and Maine - Portsmouth, NH
Portsmouth NH Real Estate Preferrable Agent

Hi Danny - thank you for those comments.  Some of my sisters and my dad periodically read my posts, and I know if they read this one, they will very much appreciate your sentiment.  Thank YOU!

Ann

May 24, 2007 11:13 AM
Jim Crawford
Long & Foster - Fredericksburg, VA
Jim Crawford Broker Associate Fredericksburg VA
Thanks for sharing your memories with your other family in www.ActiveRain.Com
May 24, 2007 12:13 PM
Ann Cummings
RE/MAX Shoreline - NH and Maine - Portsmouth, NH
Portsmouth NH Real Estate Preferrable Agent

Hi Jim - I love that comment - my "other family" in Active Rain!!  Thanks for reading!

Ann

May 24, 2007 12:56 PM
Rick & Ines - Miami Beach Real Estate
Majestic Properties - Miami Beach, FL
Ann - you have such absolutely priceless memories and I do tell you that your definition of home is the ultimate one because you did move so much.  Thanks for sharing....I never realized you guys were 4 girls....your mom was a brave woman, and your poor dad had to live through all those hormones.....OUCH!
May 24, 2007 02:47 PM
Ann Cummings
RE/MAX Shoreline - NH and Maine - Portsmouth, NH
Portsmouth NH Real Estate Preferrable Agent

Hi Ines - thanks for reading!  We even had a girl dog and a girl cat, too - LOTS of girls in my family!  My dad did get one concession - my youngest sister has his nickname as her middle name.   ;-)

Ann

May 25, 2007 06:25 AM
Neal Bloom
Brokered by eXp Realty LLC - Weston, FL
Realtor CRS-Weston FL Real Estate

Ann,

Very nice. Did I already comment here?

wow ..I forgot ....any way very good post and it will be featured in my WIR localism this weekend..as long as you are a good little girl.

May 25, 2007 11:35 AM
"The Lovely Wife" The One And Only TLW.
President-Tutas Towne Realty, Inc. - Kissimmee, FL

Ann...

I'm so sorry. I saw this on your blog yesterday and because of the pics I zoomed right by. I thought this was the Blog post you wrote for Mother's Day.

Boy. I really need to slow myself down :)

Really great post about "Home". Good luck in the contest.

TLW...ROAR!

May 25, 2007 12:10 PM
Lynda Eisenmann
Preferred Home Brokers - Brea, CA
Broker Associate ,CRS,GRI,SRES, Brea,CA, Orange Co

Ann,

What a lovely post and wonderful family. No doubt you were blessed in many ways...a happy home and loving family. For me, it doesn't get any better than that, I appreciate the same good fortune myself.

 

May 25, 2007 03:10 PM
Ann Cummings
RE/MAX Shoreline - NH and Maine - Portsmouth, NH
Portsmouth NH Real Estate Preferrable Agent

Neal - thank you for that inclusion!  And for your kind comments.

TLW - thanks for coming back!  I did use a couple of the same pics on my Mother's Day post, so I can see how you'd think that's what you were looking at.

Lynda - thank you so much for your comments, and we are, indeed, very fortunate with these good fortunes, aren't we?  Thanks for reading and commenting!


Ann

May 25, 2007 10:36 PM
Paula Henry
Home to Indy Team @ HomeSmart Realty Group - Avon, IN
Realtor - Indianapolis Real Estate - 317-605-4174
Ann - Once again you pay tribute to your family in such a loving way. Family is the essence of home for me!
May 26, 2007 04:11 AM
Celeste "SALLY" Cheeseman
Liberty Homes - Mililani, HI
(RA) AHWD CRS ePRO OAHU HAWAII REAL ESTATE
Ann:  Don't know how I didn't comment when I read it!  Good thing I was checking out all submissions!  I was a Navy Brat, Air Force dependent and all around military oriented being around all the military bases here and working with them...it sure is an experience...and now matter where I went ...ended up back here.....Hawaii is home...thanks again Ann for sharing your life!
May 26, 2007 06:06 AM
Ann Cummings
RE/MAX Shoreline - NH and Maine - Portsmouth, NH
Portsmouth NH Real Estate Preferrable Agent

Paula - thank you for that really nice comment!  My family means the world to me, no matter where we all are.

Sally - glad you came back!  Ah, another military brat!  ;-)   Thanks so much for reading.

Ann

May 26, 2007 12:01 PM
Monika McGillicuddy
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Verani Realty - Hampstead, NH
Southern NH & the Seacoast Area
I knew you'd moved around a lot but I had no clue how much! What a sweet post Ann and I love the picture of you and Bear.
May 29, 2007 12:54 PM
Ann Cummings
RE/MAX Shoreline - NH and Maine - Portsmouth, NH
Portsmouth NH Real Estate Preferrable Agent

Hey Monika - thanks for reading this post, and for the nice comments.  Yep, we did move alot, and that's one of my favorite pictures of me and Bear.  I couldn't do a post about HOME and those who make it home without including him!

Ann

May 29, 2007 01:43 PM
Gary White~Grand Rapids Home Selling Pro Call: 616-821-9375
Flexit Realty "Flexible Home Selling Solutions" - Grand Rapids, MI
Real Estate Services You can Trust!

Thanks for the nice story and photos...   Great post.

 

Jun 18, 2007 11:15 AM
Ann Cummings
RE/MAX Shoreline - NH and Maine - Portsmouth, NH
Portsmouth NH Real Estate Preferrable Agent

Hi Gary - thanks for finding this post of mine and reading it, many thanks for the comments.  Glad you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Ann

Jun 18, 2007 11:20 AM