July 8, 2012

THE GRASS IS NOT ALWAYS GREENER

Sometimes it takes a short walk on the other side of the "fence" to develop a new appreciation for the things we have.  I had that experience this weekend.

Wondering, "At this stage in life, should we sell and downsize? Move to the country and live a simpler, less hectic life?  Move to the Smokies?"  No harm in looking, so look we did.

The Internet is a wonderful thing. You can learn all about a subject without ever leaving home--all the pictures are on the realtors' websites for you to browse; filter by features, price, amenities; and choose your dream home. But a picture is NOT worth a thousand words.  Driving up to the real estate properties we saw on the Internet made our jaws drop.  

• "In need of a touch of TLC" translated to "entryway doors are rotting off."  
• "Huge storage building in back yard" meant "a run-down 4' x 4' metal container with some semblance of a roof...enter at your own risk."  
• "This home has SO much potential" was actually "yeah . . . if you have an extra $100 grand to spend!"

We got home after a few hours of driving around and looking, mentally exhausted.  The things we thought were flaws in our own safe haven would have been major improvements to the options we visited!  We won't stop dreaming and looking, but we sure did come to a deeper appreciation of our home.  And we have even more resolve to finish the few straggling home-improvement projects we have on our list.

Dorothy had it right . . . there's no place like home!