House Mangum

Though only four Mangums remain in Boise, Idaho, all seven of us in spirit are making the move to...


Eagle, Idaho.



Leaving our home of 25 years and the City of Trees...




my parents have purchased a new lovely home 20 minutes west of Boise.





As our family will only grow in size, a home that better suits our needs was much in order. And with a little bit of luck, my parents nabbed a foreclosure. Bad time to sell, but GREAT time to buy.

I will miss waking up on Christmas morning and posing for our annual family photo on the stairs, donned in our pajamas and our inevitable puffy eyes squinting.

I will miss looking into my front or backyard and seeing the trees that Maddie, my childhood best friend, and I climbed. We played with our plastic reptiles and made forts in those trees. We watched butterflies consume the branches one summer, covering every square inch of bark.

I will miss Lakewood garage sales and gathering quarters from my parent's stash to buy the most ridiculous junk, like a barbie-sized mermaid beach made of foam.

I will miss driving past our stone lampposts that garnish our driveway, and remembering how I smashed our Land Cruiser into not one, but both posts.

I will miss my old running routes that have been apart of my Boise routine since I was 15.

I will even miss our cranky and stubborn front door that refuses to open and close efficiently.

The house has character. A few repaired punches though the walls and an apple stain on the ceiling. A burning wreath hanging inside during Christmas dinner. Bedrooms that have seen tears of heartbreak and tears of joy welcoming in a new baby. We all took turns occupying each bedroom. I am sure the middle bedroom hated me the most, as Leonardo DiCaprio and Titanic posters suffocated the walls. And the kitchen floor has felt pumpkin guts and seeds hardening against the wood during carving at Halloween. That same wood has felt dozens of shoe covered feet gather for birthdays, celebrations, and graduation parties.

This house has been well loved. And it most certainly has seen love be created within its walls.

Thank you, 267 Old Saybrook. You were good to us.