I remember walking into our house for the first time almost nine years ago. We had only Brody at the time, who wasn’t even a year old yet. We had been actively house hunting with our realtor for almost six months, writing up multiple offers and getting beat out by cash offers that were tens of thousands of dollars over asking price. It was so frustrating, but our realtor was determined to find us a great home to raise a family in.
Something our realtor often told us was that we would just know when we walked into what was supposed to be our home. But after walking into close to a hundred homes that we were hoping would be ours, I began doubting him and this whole home buying process.
Then, one morning, he called to tell me about a house that just came on the market. It was one of the smallest in finished square footage that we had looked at. But, it also came with great finishes and a big backyard. If we moved quickly, we could be the very first appointment; which also meant we could be the first ones to submit an offer.
When we walked in the front door, I got that feeling in my gut that my realtor had been telling me about for months. This was it!. We quickly wrote up an offer that they accepted that afternoon. We were actually under contract on our house before my husband had even gotten to see it.
Our next chapter had officially begun and we were ecstatic!
Bad Attitude and Lack of Gratitude
At the time, for a family of three, this three bedroom house was more than enough for us. The unfinished basement collected all of the outgrown baby clothes and toys we wanted to hang onto for future kids and the backyard quickly became one of our favorite places to be.
What we didn’t know at the time was that the next eight years would bring along our four girls. What once was adequate space for our family, quickly made me feel more like the old woman who lived in a shoe. You know, the old nursery rhyme where “she had so many children, she didn’t know what to do.”
I started resenting this house for the lack of space it had. I wished the hallway, where all of my kids have learned to walk, wasn’t so narrow. Or the kitchen, where my kids eagerly ask to help cook, was bigger with more countertops. Or even the living room, where we have torn apart the whole room on Christmas morning, it should have more floor space and be open to the kitchen.
I was finding something wrong with every corner of this house that I once viewed as perfect.
There is No Place Like Home
We had a family friend staying with us one weekend. I was probably in the middle of telling her how I wished we had more space so we could give her a guest room to sleep in (although her and the kids loved sharing a room for the night), when she stopped me and said, “I love how cozy your home is. I could feel the love in this house as soon as I walked in.”
Her words stung.
I needed her perspective to realize there is much more to a home than just the square footage it has. This home created the unbreakable bond between my kids and also gave them a place where they are loved unconditionally.
I wouldn’t trade that for anything.
Good Things Come to Those Who Wait
Like the saying goes, “Love grows best in little houses, with fewer walls to separate. Where you eat and sleep so close together, you can’t help but communicate. And if we had more room between us, think of all we’d miss. Love grows best in houses just like this.”
We are unsure where our path may lead us or where we will end up moving to next. But in the meantime, I’m going to appreciate this home, who I share it with, and never forget to count my blessings.
