Several years ago I was blessed to be able to buy my mom’s house after she remarried and I had just divorced. It was a small starter home, yellow siding with a one bay carport. There were three bedrooms, one bath so my two girls shared the largest room and my son had the smallest. The eat-in kitchen opened up into the living room, and in its entirety, the house was right at 1000 sq. feet.
At the same time a good friend of mine and I started a book club. She was an attorney I worked with in the juvenile courts of the quad-county area we served, and it was just natural that we invited other professionals to join us {like the juvenile court judge, Department of Family and Children’s Services Director and others}. The plan was to meet once a month in rotating homes. Can I just be honest here? I was so envious of everyone else’s home and so embarrassed by mine. What would they think of my small house compared to theirs? Would they look down on me? And my furniture! It was all hand-me-down, mismatched and not very expensive, at all.
Fast forward to today. For the past year, I’ve been reading a blog that has brought my thinking around 360 degrees! Melissa Michaels at The Inspired Room is such an inspiration and encouragement. Her message, Love the Home You Have, has just been released as a book under the same name. It has been through her blog that I really came to love the home I am in, no matter where that may be or how small it may appear.
Do you get caught up in the comparison game?Last year, we bought a small cabin in the woods. It was purchased as a rental investment, but we have since decided to move in and do some renovating. It has one bedroom, two bathrooms and a finished daylight basement. Although we’ve just moved in, my sweetheart, who is corporate by profession but builder by heart, has already begun renovations.
Do I love this home? Immensely. Am I looking forward to hosting book club at the cabin while in the chaos of settling in and renovating? Absolutely. Gone are the days of comparing my home to my friends’ homes. Gone are the days of wishing away what I have. . .
Want to fall in love your home? Learn how Stacy at TNL does it with @theinspiredroomTo celebrate book publishing day, Melissa is hosting a 31-day challenge to Love Your Home. I hope you will join me in participating AND in reading her book Love the Home You Have. Congratulations Melissa, and a tremendous thank you for helping me shift my perspective and love my home!
