Renting & living

I want to buy a house.

I'm not discontent where I am. I actually really love the townhouse that we're currently renting. I love our brick patio. I love being right around the corner from the grocery store. I love walking and running through the neighborhood. But sometimes I really just want it to be ours. I want to fix the chandelier that's located in a very awkward place in the dining room because we keep bumping our heads on it (not to mention it's u-g-l-y). I want to paint all the walls. I want to add a screen door in the kitchen so we don't have to shut the big one every time we go in or out for fear that bugs will get inside (they always do anyway) and so that I can talk to Michael while he's grilling. I want to paint all the trim and molding bright white because some of it is white and some of it is off-white and it's really bothering me. I want to strip the wallpaper in the kitchen and paint the walls and add a pretty tiled backsplash.

I know these things cost money. And we probably wouldn't be able to do them all if we owned the place, because of some little things called budget and saving for the future. But it sure would be nice to have the option. To save a for a project and do it ourselves and be proud of our accomplishments.

I know that since we don't know where we'll be in the next few years, it's probably best to keep our options open until we have more solid jobs that we love and can count on staying in for more than a couple years. I don't know if this piece of the world is our forever place. We need to be a bit more sure about that first.

I also know that we are blessed for this to even be something that's an option in our future. I know some people can barely cover their bills or have a lot of debt and buying may not be an option for them ever. I know that the place we currently live in is comfortable and nice and bigger than we really need. We are blessed for certain.



But then there are times where I am reminded that we don't have to own a place to make memories in it. We can live in this house and fill it up with our things, our lives, and people we love. We can host parties, have friends over for dinner, watch the sunset from our back patio, decorate for the holidays, and love, fight with, and forgive each other in this house. We can paint a wall or two, rearrange furniture, organize closets, and make it our home.

Sarah & Ross were planning on camping through the rest of the week, but since it was so wet and rainy, they drove to our house with us on Monday for more visiting and also so they could go to the beach for a couple days. Last night when they returned from the beach we got to have dinner with them on our patio, take a walk around the neighborhood, and watch a movie. There's something wonderful about having a full house and breaking the routine of the normal work week. And you really don't need much more than a kitchen or an extra bed to do that.

While we are renting, we can live. We don't have to wait until we own our own place to do all of that. We will save our money, dream up our future home wishlist, and wait patiently for the right time. But more importantly, we will do our best to live and love in this home. Because without those things, it really is just a house.