My husband and I moved to Knoxville almost 7 years ago into our quaint little yellow 2 bedroom, 1 bath "starter home". It was our intent to live here, save money and move on to "bigger and better" things after a few short years and certainly before we had a second child!!! Well, we kept (in our minds) "saving", simplifying and living below our means. Then we fell in love with an old fixer upper and threw the house on the market right when the housing market crashed. Okie dokie. That didn't pan out.
I will openly admit that I wanted the bigger house, MORE space, MORE bathrooms, MORE MORE MORE. I hate it when I want more. Because I strive each day to simplify. We bake our own bread. We get our eggs from Nana's farm. We grow our own veggies when we can. We recycle everything. We upcycle what we can't recycle. We freecycle what we can't recycle or upcycle. Simple. Keep it simple, Meghan.
I decided today to list the things I adore about our quaint starter home and I thought it would be nice to share my thoughts. I realize that so many people are in housing situations so much worse than ours. We can afford our house when so many cannot.
I am okay with being here a little longer. I don't need the space I crave just like I don't need designer labels or a new car. I am just not that kind of girl. I want to build our dream home out of as many recycled materials as possible and BE the mother and wife I want to be. That is what I want. Not the big house.
So here goes:
1. I LOVE that each morning before school, I lean over our space saving pedestal sink with my two children and we brush our teeth TOGETHER.
2. I LOVE that my children sleep in the same room and share so well because of it.
3. I LOVE that I can sit here in my office/laundry room/sewing room/studio and see into the kitchen where my husband cooks and see into the living room where my kids play.
4. I LOVE that we have an incredible back yard.
5. I LOVE that we don't have stairs.
6. I LOVE that I can see our incredible back yard and the children that play in it from my office/laundry room/sewing room/studio.
7. I LOVE that it isn't just a yellow house, it is what we call "home". It really is.
1 comment:
I'm glad I checked your blog today :-) That is what it's all about. We find ourselves in a similar situation and I have to often remind myself of the joys of it all, and not get into that rut of....well, you know. I love the simple life. I truly believe that it allows us to put more focus into the things in this world that really matter: family, relationships, laughing, working hard with what we've been given, using our hands to create, to touch, to tend to, to comfort, to give, to love, and so on. These things bring a sense of peace, a sense of accomplishment, of completion. The "rat race" of achieving "more, more, more", though often tempting, is not fulfilling. And, I believe, that paradoxically, when we strive towards simplicity, we receive the "more" that we were always looking for. Great post. Thanks for sharing.
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