Housing Woes, the reprise

I have been thinking a lot lately about how much my satisfaction or dissatisfaction with my current status depends on what others around me have or don't have.

I took this picture with my cell phone the other day (sorry for the crappy quality). It is a house I pass on my way to yoga every Tuesday night. I secretly lust after this house. I love the wrap-around porch, the cute yard with fence, the big trees out front... it is your perfect little suburban house. The perfect place to raise a family and have people come stay with you and decorate for Christmas. *sigh*

After trying last spring to rent out our town house with no luck, a housing miracle seemed to drop into our laps a few weeks ago. A potential renter came to look at our house and LOVED IT! She wanted to move in ASAP. Praise the Lord!! ..... sort of.....
We immediately started looking for houses to move into. Not much seemed to be available, but then we found THE PERFECT HOUSE for us. The space we need, the fence we need, within our price range.... Could this really be happening??? A renter and a house we would LOVE to live in??? Somebody pinch me!
PINCH

While our credit application was being processed, the owners of my perfect house signed a lease with someone else. Boo! Also, we had some hiccups in the process of working things out with our "tenant" and it seems like that is now falling through too. Boo! It just doesn't seem to be in the cards, again. I have already cried about it and had my little moment of "it's not fair!!" It does kinda seem like God is teasing me with this whole moving thing. But God isn't really in the "teasing" business so I know there has to be some sort of greater plan at work here... just one that is not so visible from where I am standing.

I want a new house because we need more room. We have realistically outgrown this space. We need a yard for my boys and the pooch. I want to be able to host people and give my parents a room to stay in when they come to visit. And while those are the biggest reasons, that is certainly not the whole story. Nearly all my friends have upgraded their housing in the last year or so. Two of my best friends have bigger, beautiful homes with yards and rooms for all their children. How much of my housing discontent is because I judge my current situation against what my friends have that I don't?
A move for me just isn't gonna happen right now. And maybe not for awhile. Being a landlord kinda freaks me out and I certainly don't want to jeopardize our financial stability by taking on too much risk. And I don't want to go through the hassle of moving unless it is the right house (which was stolen from me and doesn't seem to exist anywhere else...).

So there you have it... my current housing woes. I am disappointed, for sure. Maybe even a little pissed. But trying to keep it all in proper perspective and trust that this is God protecting me and not teasing me. And not base my contentedness on things I cannot control.

But if the person who lives in my dream, suburban home pictured above happens to be reading this and wants to rent your house to me..... just sayin'.



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Housing Woes

With the current state of the economy, I know that the problem I have is one of affluence. In other words, if I didn't have such a good life I would not have this problem. But that being said, I am going to tell you about my woes anyway.

My family and I live in a 2bedroom townhouse. It has three levels, the basement being the garage and a little office/playroom, with both bedrooms on the top floor. We have a little bit of yard but most of it is shared so we can't fence it in or keep people from walking through it. For about a year now, Hubby and I have been talking about wanting to move: to upgrade to something a bit bigger with more of a yard. Our dog needs a yard and I desperately want the boys to have a place to play. We have been hesitant to put our house on the market for fear that we will take a huge beating and screw ourselves financially. So mostly for that reason, we have stayed put.
Well just recently, we listed our place on Craig's list to try to find renters so that we can in-turn find a place to rent until the market picks up a bit more. We are not having any luck getting leads on our house and it is bumming me out!! I got myself so excited, thinking we were finally getting some momentum in this moving thing. We looked at a couple of rentals, nice houses that would have worked for us. None blew me away or jumped out as the perfect place. But then again, we are in no position to find a place to move into until we find people to move in here.
So here we are, really no further than we have ever been. Except, I really do want to move!!

Here lies the dilemma. I can't figure out if my desire to move is legitimate. I have a roof over my head, my children have beds to sleep in and food to eat and a safe place to live. Should I just be content with that? Should I just be grateful that I don't have to move and take a loss on our place and live here a bit longer until it is more to our advantage to sell?
Or should we keep trying to move into a bigger place in time to enjoy a yard this summer and have more room this winter when we are all stuck inside again?
I really don't know. I struggle at times with contentment anyway. I seem to always have something on the horizon or big ideas for how to make our life "perfect". But I am actually entering a phase of life with not much pending in the future. I will probably not have anymore kids, Hubby is in a good job that he will probably be in for at least a bit longer and I have no idea what will happen with my job. There is the chance Hubby could move up in his field soon and we might move to Texas in the next few years but that is all still a really big "if" right now and nothing we can bank on. I have been working hard on living in the moment, concentrating on the present, and not trying to just get through today to get to tomorrow. Is this just one more lesson or step in that journey?
So, do I fight for what I want.... a yard where the dog and the kids can run and play and have fun. A guest room and a play room and just a little more room to breathe. Or do I simply praise God for the house He has given us for this time and ask humbly that He help us sell it when the time is right and our next step is more clear and/or necessary?
I do love our little home. SO much life has happened here that it would be a bit sad to leave. But, I also really want my boys to have a magical, healthy, amazing childhood. I really want them to run through the grass and play in mud and have room to be free little boys while staying safe and somewhat contained. And selfishly, I would love for the dog and the boys to be able to go outside and get a little exercise without me having to be by their side every moment.
Yet, we are trying to pay down some debt and live within our means and be good stewards of what God had given us. Oh dear! I just don't know what to think about this anymore.





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