Smile
Is what I had to do when I read Meg’s comment. Ah yes, she lives across the country and we have only chatted online (although we were VERY close to meeting in person once) but she hit the nail on the head. Moving is not going to make my kids clean their rooms. It’s not going to make me remember to get dog food when I am at the store. It is not going to make me a happier person. Well maybe for a little while :).
I think I have mentioned that I really love my house, and I have great neighbors. My kids walk to school, I can walk to our little downtown and the library.
The truth is that I love to remodel and dream about house stuff. But I get sad when I think about leaving this house.
Tonight I was cooking dinner. Eva had just fallen asleep (amazing since the dogs and kids were being very loud). Someone knocks on the door- I have garlic, zucchini, and tomatoes that I am heating up on the stove for pasta. I look out the window and don’t recognize the volvo station wagon. The dogs are barking, I am afraid Eva will wake up- she is sleeping in a bouncy seat in the kitchen. If she wakes up, there goes dinner. I am annoyed.
I answer the door. It is a woman passing out info about a meeting concerning the mowing of the grass down by the river. She hands me the flyer and turns to leave. She stops, turns around and says, “I just want you to know that you did a wonderful job with your remodel. This house, I just love to look at it when I drive by. It is one of the best in the neighborhood.” I stand there, hands full of oranges, a bowl, her flyer… silent. I’m thinking, “did my husband pay you to say that?” She turns to leave, turns around again and says, “it’s so Pottery Barn looking”.
“Thanks” I mutter. Thinking about the irony of the whole thing.
And I decide to be thankful. That I have this house, and the love that is inside.
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elisa
meg duerksen | 21st Jul 09
i am smiling now.
we have been driving and looking at houses…discussing this and that of moving and i felt sick. my stomach actually hurt! i love this house and all we have here.
but i would also love THAT town or THAT house. i almost cried just thinking of all the change.
such hard decisions.
so i feel like i know what you are/were feeling.
then thankfully craig came in from grilling hamburgers (time to think) and said “we can’t move from here…it’s perfect for us…just the way we want it”
thank goodness.
i could breathe again.
so i am smiling here too.
Melanie | 22nd Jul 09
I know exactly how you feel. I love to ride around and look at houses and dream. BUT my dream is coming true. I am so sad about leaving our house the we just built 2 1/2 years ago and know that I will not find a house that is built with so much love. We live in a small town outside of Jax. Fl. and the railroad is transferring us to a suburb of Cincinnati. We got our notice on Monday that we have to be up there Oct. 17. I took my first trip up there a week ago and looked around. It was so stressful that I was running to the bathroom every other minute. We found a house being built in a great neighborhood with a great high school. So, when we move in Oct. we will have built 3 houses in 9 years, moved 7 times and with it I have aged the most with this last move. We love moving because it is an adventure but there are negatives too. I am trying to take it a day at a time but this is a huge move for us. Last time was only 300 miles away and this is 800 and some winter weather that we have never experienced. It’s a lot but it will be fun. It is always normal to dream and wonder but sometimes it comes true:) Thanks for my wonderful large tote bag. It is beautiful. Now I want one that isn’t as big. (I would love to live in an older home on a great street like you & Meg but my hubby doesn’t do old. He doesn’t want to spend the money. I LOVE old houses and if it were up to me, we would be buying one:)