one of my absolute favorite pastimes is driving around to look at beautiful old homes. while the hubs and i were airbnb-ing (is that an actual term?) recently in our hometown of paducah, kentucky, we realized we were close to the gorgeous lowertown district. lowertown is an art-centric part of downtown paducah, with plenty of old-home eye candy.
so here we are, drooling over this spectacular architecture, and i see the. most. beautiful. house. and it was for sale (!). what first caught my eye were the two-stories-tall white columns. the entire house, built in the 1800s, was exquisite. there was a wrought-iron fence in front, a giant limestone statue near the main entrance, and a ballroom large enough to qualify as a wedding venue.
like you do, i insisted we get out of the car. my husband said, “hey, someone might still be living there” and “maybe let’s not get arrested for trespassing on christmas eve,” but i was already in the front yard, screeching with delight. it was obvious the house needed a lot of work to restore it to its former glory, but isn’t that true of almost every old home? after i’d seen all i could from the outside, i took to zillow to get more details. my husband pointed out that one wing of the house was commercially zoned; it was probably intended for something art-related, like a gallery, he said. then he said something else that was left-field-worthy: “hey, if we bought this house, you could open your own art gallery.”
say what?! i laughingly asked, “what about your job?” his response was that he could stay on at his company and work from home. i still thought he was joking, but his response was that he’d love to see me advance my career now that his was well-established. it was an interesting idea. i’d never meant to make art a career. i had intended to just paint for myself as a hobby and to adorn our home’s walls; however, the universe apparently had its own plan for me.
moving on
in the end, we decided not to pursue the move; we love indy, we love our friends, and we love the old house we own here (though tbh, i’d love to have that grand ballroom). still, it was a fascinating exercise, because how often do potentially life-altering situations present themselves? how often do we stop to re-evaluate the choices we make? for me, it felt damn good to know i was where i felt like i needed to be. it was also a great reminder that someone loves me and my work enough to consider uprooting their life for me.
so for now, i’ll continue to paint, continue to write, and continue to share my passion with others. who knows? maybe i will own an art gallery someday. like actor roger smith so eloquently stated, “you don’t just stumble into the future. you create your own future.”
oh, and yes, i’ve checked… that house is still on the market today.
cheers, y’all.
– stacey
stacey stallons 