His Name is Earl

Seeing that it's a dark and stormy night in Kansas City, it seems like the perfect time to share something I've been, well, experiencing...

First, a little background. Earl used to live in the Nut before it was called the Nut. Earl bought the house in the late 50s, raised a family here and passed away from cancer last summer. His wife had died a few years prior to that, we've learned from neighbors. Earl and his family were excellent homeowners, taking very good care of their property. The floors are on the whole in excellent shape, the windows are in perfect condition, and despite some questionable wallpaper choices, the Nut was a steal. (The house was only on the market for a day, and we weren't the only offer.) Earl also always kept a trim, weed-free yard and grew tasty tomatoes every summer. This all has left Ryan and I with pretty big shoes to fill. (Crabgrass...what's crabgrass???)

Over the past few months, I've noticed a few unusual incidents at the Nut. All have occurred in the two rooms of the house that connect the house proper to the backyard: the screened-in porch area and the mudroom. I frequently will go into the mudroom (I'm in there often because that's where Siena's food is and gosh knows she's a growing girl), come out and lock the door. Later I'll go back down to see that the door is unlocked. Same goes for the screened-in porch. Once, while Siena and I were watching TV (Ryan was out working late), we heard a strange noise (Siena's ears perked up and she woofed) and found the door to the mudroom open.

Now, it's totally possible that it's just the wind or change in air pressure from the two rooms into the house. Or maybe Ryan is just effing with me (but I honestly don't think he'd play along this long without cracking). But, maybe, just maybe, it's Earl.

Now, I don't feel anything malicious or bad in the house. I feel more like Earl is just checking on things. In fact, to Ryan's enjoyment, I had a quick convo with Earl, telling him that we'd take good care of things and that we're cool with him coming and going if he could, you know, remember to shut and lock the doors. (Just a suggestion, Earl.)

Earl was a smoker, so maybe he's enjoying a cigarette in the great outdoors. Or maybe Earl is heading out to his backyard of splendor to see how we're keeping his outdoor legacy up. I really don't know. I just hope to God he approves.