"Why can't we have a big house like Lukas?"


It was a question I wasn't prepared for...a question that took me back to middle school, a time when I didn't understand why I didn't have an Espirit book bag, Guess jeans and Franco Gibra-something shirts.
I hated this question. Fourteen months ago Shawn and I bought a three bedroom foreclosure that I am absolutely in love with. It's got multi levels-which means I have a sunken living room that I always wanted-cool and dark for movies!!! I have a library/office for all my beloved books. Shawn turned our garage into a Yoga studio for me and therefore now has an entire basement for all his tools, projects and man things...and a rather impressive back yard with beautiful woods beyond it. BUT it's not the $300k+ house that his very good friend has.  The house is beautiful and immaculate and something I would have killed myself to purchase a few years ago.
Shawn and I used to work ourselves stupid to buy all the shiny, shiny new things that we wanted. We worked so much that we wished we had time to play with our shiny things. THEN shiny things become dull and boring and we still have to get up and go to work for more shiny things. This became exhausting. Then Shawn deployed to Afghanistan for eleven months.
It hit me Christmas morning. Shawn's face was smiling from the laptop near my shoulder, watching Hayden open his presents. I had three gifts to open. All from Hayden who was concerned a week earlier that I didn't have any gifts, so I gave him some money and a friend took him to Target.  It took a nano-second to go from laying first eyes on the Christmas morning tree to being buried in the wrapping wreckage. Shawn's family had stayed the night with us, which meant it was time to make everyone breakfast. All I wanted to do was sit by that laptop. I didn't miss opening my designer handbags and accessories. I missed my husband.
That day I gave up wishing for shiny new things and began to work towards a life that gave us more TIME.
Now, I wasn't privy to this information until Shawn's safe return home in July the following year...but that Christmas morning, a man on Shawn's base was killed while on skype with his family.  I can't even imagine. 


So, my response to Hayden's "heart wrenching" question...
"Hayden we CAN have a great big house like Lukas has, but if we did, Mom and Dad would have to work a lot more to make enough money to pay for it. We bought this house because it was just the right size and just the right price to let us have lots of family time."
His response?
"Okay. Can Lukas come over tomorrow?"

You'd think I would know not to panic anymore. 

The point of my story is this.. Shawn and I gave up a life of working for all the things we wanted, to embrace a life of living with a little work to enjoy the things that we have.
I wish that change for you too.
The grass may be greener, but you have no idea what's in the fertilizer they're using :)
Namaste'