Dominika Wrozynski "The Story of Our House"
I wrote “The Story of Our House” after my now-husband and I had finally moved out of a series of apartments in Tallahassee, Florida, and into a rental house. We were finally able to afford a house and we were so in love with it, and with the quiet street far away from all college students. Live oaks draped in Spanish moss welcomed us home every night. We finally got a dog. That house was a great space for my writing—and it came with so much nature: woodpeckers, owls, bugs of infinite varieties, and armadillos (who are hated by most homeowners for destroying lawns but I love their awkward, ugly bodies anyway). As I encountered all of these natural elements daily, I kept thinking about how all animals create homes, nests, dens. How do those homes fulfill our need for sanctuaries? How does nature take us outside of ourselves while also showing us those intimate connections with other living beings?