Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there! What a wonderful weekend it’s been. My family has spoiled me…and I indulged myself today writing for pleasure. So – here you are. Thanks for reading!
Mother’s Day with my daughter and my mom, 2013
Today also marks one month since we moved into our new (to us) home. This post won’t be about a new destination, but rather a snippet of our journey to live an intentional life.
If you’ve been reading this blog since the beginning, you know that our Semester at Sea adventure was transformative on multiple levels. Not only did it open our minds and enlarge our perspective, it was the catalyst for me to resign from an 18 year career in education and “start over.” My web writing business, Write Nice, launched in the fall of 2011. It hasn’t been easy, but I have no regrets. Today, business is brisk.
Along the way, we’ve scrutinized how we spend our money, reflected on how we want to live our lives, and made some difficult decisions. Taking the Financial Peace class last year enlightened us to the fact that a disproportionate amount of our income was sucked up by our mortgage.
Many discussions between Jason and I ensued. What should we do? What were our priorities, and what were our options?
About 6 months later, we concluded the logical thing to do was sell our house and downsize to something smaller and more manageable. It took another 6 months before we listed our house for sale.
The kids were not thrilled….they adored our giant, newer house and kid-centric backyard (basketball, anyone?) We explained how our family was our “home” – no matter where we lived, we’d always be together.
But Vivian, a 6th grader now, had no qualms reminding us “Why do we always move?….You promised we’d be in this house until William went to college!….I don’t want to leave!”
William drew into himself, wandering the backyard in quietude everyday after school. If you’re a parent, you know how guilt can jab at you. This was one of those “guilty as charged” times.
Every time we prepared for a showing, I cursed under my breath, sweating as I rushed to scour each room, wondering what in the world were we thinking to create such upheaval and uproot the kids.
Six weeks after the for sale sign stuck in the ground, we got an offer. Surprise! Then, gulp – the buyers wanted to close in 30 days.
This commenced the mad house hunt for a suitable downsize. For a month we lived in limbo, looking at houses, making offers and counter-offers, hoping and praying something would fall into place so we wouldn’t have to move into a rental and wait for the right home to come on the market.
Headaches, perpetual crankiness, and insomnia plagued me from the stress. Ugh. And then the mammoth job of purging (garage sale and countless trips to Goodwill), packing, and moving.
We’re so grateful for the terrific help we received for the move!
Somehow we muddled through. Thankfully, family and friends helped at the exact times when we needed them.
God is good. It all worked out, better than I could have ever imagined. Let’s compare the specs:
Then:
3016 square feet, 5 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, built in 2004
Now:
1734 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, built in 1959 (with a funky 1970′s addition)
That first week, we braced ourselves for a tough transition, based on how physically and emotionally draining moving week had been. I ended up sick in bed (after battling the bug as long as I could) our second day in the new house. By mid-week, I had recovered and life continued, amidst boxes and busy routines.
You know what? We transitioned smoothly. It felt right. When we’d moved into our old house I distinctly remember thinking, “This house is so big! This house is so nice!”
But never that it felt right.
William loves the climbing trees in our new yard.
Call me Goldilocks….this little place is just right. And the freedom that accompanies this smaller house opens up opportunities that would have stayed wistful dreams had we kept to the status quo.
Vivian and the irises in bloom in our new front yard.
Do I miss the old house? Sure, I miss my enormous walk-in closet. The automatic ice and water on the stainless steel refrigerator. But that’s about all – and as days pass, I miss those luxuries less and less.
We’ve gained other, intangible riches:
The liberation of cutting our mortgage in half. Simplifying and streamlining our “stuff.” Learning to share a cozier space. Building up college accounts and other savings. Planning new adventures in a financially-secure manner.
Is life perfect? Of course not. It’s just bigger and better (for us) living smaller.
