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Wanted: A happy family to buy my childhood home. Must have lots of kids to run around in the backyard (and occasionally do some yard work). Must be willing to eat breakfast and dinner on the deck from May through October. Must promise to hold wedding receptions, birthday parties, neighborhood breakfasts, and other such events on a regular basis. Must love old houses with all of their charms and their beautiful woodwork. Must promise to never put in vinyl windows that would compromise the beauty of the original craftsmanship. Must adore Coastal Redwoods, ocean breezes, and detached garages.

It is an added plus if you love to sing together, want to lay on the grass at night to watch the planes fly overhead, and don't mind an occasional siren (as the police station is only a couple of blocks away). I hope you'll love all the trees, including the original Whittier Haas avocado trees, the persimmon tree (we can give you recipes for that one), and the space for a vegetable garden. You'll be pleased to know that there is plenty of room for food storage, camping storage, and storing your kids' stuff when they are too grown up to live at home but not grown up enough to have a place to store their own things.

I hope you'll build a tree house where ours once was and hang a hammock under another tree-- a place for a bookworm to escape and while away an afternoon with a great classic. There are plenty of places to play Star Wars, Davy Crockett, and GI Joe (if you're into that). The basketball court will help your kid develop their athletic ability--or not.

Be sure to take walks and bike rides to the nearby library, to the Whittier College campus, to Michigan Park. In the spring, the jacarandas bloom everywhere and then snow purple all over the streets. It's positively dream-like. Your out-of-state relatives will all want to visit since you'll be within minutes of Disneyland, and a short distance from Los Angeles, the Pacific Ocean, and Irvine. You'll be glad for the guest apartment over the garage (unless you decide to rent that out to a college student.)

This home has been in our family for over 30 years now and we will be sad to see it go. You can probably buy it even if you don't meet the above qualifications, but it will be easier for us to hand over the keys if you do. Then we will know that we are providing a place for another family to build 30 years of memories together--and it is the perfect spot for that.