As recounted in the last post, the grandfather clock was a staple in the homes of my European childhood. They were simply a part of the decor of the homes of friends and relatives; something that I largely took for granted until we came to this country without much more than the shirts on our backs.

After spending many years with relatives who had preceded us to America – a dozen of us squeezed into a two-bedroom city apartment while my parents started a small business – we finally began to see our efforts pay off and my family was able to move to our own house. There we began to recreate our home, complete with a grandfather clock that my mother had crafted for our new house.

Later, as a newly-married adult, I began to look for my first house along with my wife. With all the excitement of first-time home buyers we didn’t stop looking until we found something that spoke to us; something that was perfect for us. And the first thing that I did when we moved in was to go in search of the perfect grandfather clock.

I did not have far to look in this day and age as the Internet has opened up all new worlds of shopping opportunities. And so I was able to do something that my relatives all those many years ago would never have even dreamed possible – I sat at my computer and ordered the perfect grandfather clock for my home. And in a few days time, it arrived – as perfect as I could ever have imagined. Now my house is a home.