Home has always been a theme in my life. I had a loving home growing up, and I always dreamed of the house and family I would have someday when I was a child. My grandma would read me Edgar Guest's poem, Home, often. It was one of her favorites.
Now as I find myself at the landing pad of my teaching career with a few more years left, years devoted singly to my school, team, homeroom, students, and their families, I am focusing more on home in my free time by creating a place that is warm and welcoming. I am debating whether I'll stay in the home I've lived in for almost thirty years or move to a new home.
Now as I find myself at the landing pad of my teaching career with a few more years left, years devoted singly to my school, team, homeroom, students, and their families, I am focusing more on home in my free time by creating a place that is warm and welcoming. I am debating whether I'll stay in the home I've lived in for almost thirty years or move to a new home.
When we bought our current home we had only $5,000 in savings and made a combined income of $60,000 as a teacher and public health worker. We had to pay the mortgage tax since we had such a small down payment. I read a book about buying houses which was very helpful leading us to buy a house that wealthy people desired to sell quickly thus we got a bit more house than our finances allowed. Our realtor was kind and thoughtful and would only let us buy a house in a neighborhood on a side street that was good for children--this worked out well too. The house was in good shape thus requiring little work. We compromised a bit by giving up on a style of house we liked best and a good inside-outside flow even though we did get an extra bonus of a piece of land that backs up to conservation land thus providing a nice amount of natural beauty and privacy.
Now as a mom of young adult children who visit with their friends and loved ones, I'm wondering how I can make my home more welcoming and inviting, and like many people at my stage of living, I'm wondering if we should move near an inviting amenity such as a mountain or a beach---a place the children want to visit. Yet, there's that desire to stay here too since the house is filled with memories--it's the only home our children have known and the place my husband and I have lived in for the longest period of our lives--what will we do?
The decision is a ways off since we have one son who needs to finish college and a few years before retirement so we have time, but in time we'll decide if the "new home" is the home we've lived in for years with a few updates or a new place near an inviting amenity--a place, perhaps, with better in-out flow and a style we like better. Time will tell.