Two of dearest BFFs made major house decisions this past weekend. One sold a house. One bought a house. And I, well I still live in my house. My house which I still love. And here are some of my reasons:
1. The Space - We essentially tripled our living space and we are all happier for it. (Elijah needs to release some energy? Let him run around the couch. Lillian is sure to join him.)
2. The Yard - I will admit that the flower gardens were a bit overwhelming last summer. I'm pretty sure that having removed half of them I will enjoy my yard even more this summer. I am also thrilled with the plot of land that we tilled up in the fall so I can once again have a garden. I missed having a garden this summer. I love being able to go outside and get fresh ingredients for supper.
3. The Garage - When it's -45 with the windchill? I get to park inside. I don't think that needs more of an explaination.
4. Two bathrooms - There are now four of us that use the toilet. Nice to have a second one. This has become particularly important since the fourth member of the toilet using group in our house is 17 months and really just enjoys the experience of sitting on the "Special Seat". It's not so much about actually utilizing the services that the toilet provides.
5. Location - Close to work. Close to the mall. Close to the grocery store. Close to several play structures. Close to schools.
6. The Layout - Back when we lived in the old house we had two children sleeping right outside our bedroom door. Lillian was born and was sleeping in a basinet. It was convenient to have her close by when she woke up at night. Elijah had his bedroom upstairs and he started to come down the stairs at night. The stairs were pretty steep without a railing so it was just a headline waiting to happen. Now they're happily living in their own rooms just down the hall.
7. The Windows - There are lots of them and they are relatively new. There is something wonderful about natural light. It just makes me happy.
8. Our Sunroom - The funny thing about this is that we didn't even look at it when we looked at the house the three times that we came here before we made an offer. Didn't even occur to us that we would care. We spent a lot of time in there this summer. It actually became the place where we ate most of our meals and spent a lot of time playing. We even put a couch in there so it became a cozy little place to read a book.
9. The Untapped Potential - There is room to work with this house. There are so many projects yet to be started. Having said that, we can live in it happily just the way it is. That's nice.
10. No Crazy Mortgage - We can live here comfortably. No crazy mortgage payments that make us house poor. Sure our property taxes are four times as much but it's a small price to pay for this much joy.
Yup. I really love this house.
