It's All About Perspective

We watched a real tear jerker on tv last night. You know, one of those where you can just feel the pain of the family coming through the tv screen. Here's the cliff notes version. After a recent job reduction/layoff situation, a family of 6 was choosing to move from their 7500 sq ft...errr...musuem?...I mean, house. Anyway, they were downgrading with a budget of $400,000, somewhere in TX, I believe. Right? Truly heartbreaking...

They were clearly rattled by laminate countertops, brass fixtures, and oak kitchens. A first floor master was a must. They also couldn't stomach the idea that their master bathroom wouldn't be connected to the bedroom. A step out into the hallway appeared to be a deal breaker. They finally did choose a 3300 sq ft house with potential. He had a background in construction.

I'm really not being fair. They actually seemed like a very nice family who had learned a valuable lesson in materialism. They were choosing to cutback. They appartently ended up cutting their mortgage in half, which was their goal. What the heck would a mortgage payment be on a 7500 sq ft house? Insurance, taxes...can you imagine?

But, like I said it's all in your perspective. We become so used to what we have everyday, what we "deserve" that's it's sometimes hard to adjust our thinking. My biggest complaints about our house are: no walk-in closet, laundry room is actually a closet, and a 4th bedroom would be handy. Which are all ridiculous to someone living with their family in a 1 bedroom apartment, or worse yet, having no home at all. I know we're fortunate. Our house is very comfortable (and affordable!) for our family. We truly don't need anything more. Anything more than what we have would be a luxury, not a necessity. (Don't tell the HGTV people, but I have laminate floors (gasp!), no granite (ewwww!), and...hold on for this one...no double sinks (I am being serious!). Our house would never make it on House Hunters. People would faint as soon as they walked in the door.)

So, I guess dreaming of a larger, more luxurious house can be fun. But sometimes, it's better to look around and appreciate what I have. Which usually leads to dreaming of future projects...plus, I hate cleaning. There is no way those commercial stoves and theatre rooms clean themselves...