On a real house

Blake and I listed our condo this week; we've had one showing so far. We're going to California this weekend to look at homes for when we move. I thought today might be an appropriate time for me to share my thoughts on getting a real house.

As we've talked about this move, we've explored a lot of housing options and done quite a bit of research already. As we're looking at home prices, mortgage rates, and rent rates, we're thinking that buying a home makes the most financial sense right now. We're looking for a place we would live in for 10 years or more. Thinking about this while looking at online home listings got me so excited (also a little scared, but mostly excited). We used this issue for a practice in Couple Communication training (that post is coming soon), and I became aware of a whole new aspect of it that is especially meaningful for me.

Over the course of my life I've moved more times than is healthy for one individual. It's unreal. The longest I've lived anywhere was 8 years in Orem with Grandma Jean. It was wonderful of her to take us in. However, in all the time I lived there, I knew it wasn't my house. I was comfortable and welcome there, but I knew I was a guest. Since I graduated from high school, I've only lived in one place for a year, and all the rest were of shorter duration. Apparently I'm a nomad.

The thought that very soon we'll have a real house that we'll stay in for a long time is so incredibly comforting to me. It's like finally glimpsing the light at the end of a very long tunnel. My nomadic sojourn may soon be over. I can unpack boxes and throw them away, instead of saving them for the next move. I won't be living out of rubermaid containers. We can have a yard and plant plants and trees and flowers . . . and be there to see them grow! Making friends with the neighbors will be worth the effort. We can be in a ward long enough to make friends, and maybe hold more than one calling per ward. This is actually a really emotional thing for me: a real house! :D

For anyone who's interested, but mostly for my own amusement, I have decided to chronicle my homes/moves as best I can remember with the most distinctive things I remember from the place or my time there. The first few years are pretty fuzzy.

Salt Lake City (across from Dennis and Sondra): birth-18 months
Reseda, CA maybe?: I think when my parents divorced we lived with my grandma for a bit, but I'm not totally sure about that. It seems to me that I heard somewhere that we might have crashed with Allan and Kris during that time as well, but again, I don't really know.
Orem, UT cul-de-sac house: about a year, until Mom and Ray got married
Orem, UT across from Resse: about a year. Patti came and played a lot.
Dana Point, CA: 2 years or so. Kindergarten for sure, and maybe first grade too. Awesome pool.
San Juan Capistrano, CA: 1 year. Bamboo ceilings.
Dana Point, CA: 1 year. Atrium, sinking in the back.
Olathe, Kansas: 6 months. With Allan and Kris.
Orem, UT: 8 years. With Grandma Jean.
Malibu/Jackson Hole/Orem: 3 months. Spent the summer with my mom in the Nedra world.
Taylor Hall: 8 months. Freshman dorms with Jackie from high school.
Saratoga Springs: 4 months. Lived at my mom's house for the summer.
Quetzaltenango, Guatemala: 2 weeks. It was supposed to be longer, but I came home early.
Tree House, Provo: 2 months. One klepto roommate and the other covered our hallway with pictures of naked men.
Blue House, Provo: 5 months. Next door to an ex-boyfriend. Yuck.
Roman Gardens, Provo: 4 months. Spa Jongg. Mission Call.
Saratoga Springs: 6 weeks. Getting ready for the mission.
MTC: 2 months.
Edinburg, TX: 4 months. Small apartment complex in the middle of a field, literally. Neighbor's car said "You're worst nightmare" on the bumper. Classic.
Brownsville, TX: 3 months. White trash at it's finest. On cinder blocks, holes in the floor that allowed you to see the grass underneath, a washer that had to be filled by running the garden hose in through the window.
Corpus Christi, TX: 3 months. One room and gross.
McAllen, TX: 4 months. After I scrubbed the tub on my first p-day there, my companion said in surprise "Oh, it's really white?" Yeah.
Brownsville, TX: 3 months. Nicer apartment. Neighbor took our clothes out of the driers and stacked them all together, on several occasions. We had to be vigilant. Accidentally wearing another missionary's underwear once is enough.
Saragota Springs: 4 months. Coming home was hard. Got to work in the nursery at church.
DeVere Court Apartments: 8 months. Downstairs neighbor was our "sticom neighbor."
Alta Apartments: 4 months. Adventures with "box boy."
Alcala de Henares, Spain: 4 months. Wonderful. Good food, nice family, great culture. Awesome.
The House on 800 North: 1 year. Real kitchen and living room. Craziest landlady ever.
Number B, Salt Lake: 8 months. Townhouse with Kim and Jodie, what could be better?
Redlands, CA: 6 weeks. Little place. Just long enough to complete the first big class of grad school.
Saratoga Springs: 2 months. Wedding planning and looking for work.
South Salt Lake: almost 5 months so far. Great place, but it's temporary.

So, there you have it. Pretty incredible. I think I could die a happy woman with 1-2 more additions to that list for the whole rest of my life. A real house!! :D