Thoughts on a year of homeownership

I was realizing that this week, we'll have been in our house for one year! It seems completely crazy to think we've been here a full year already, but since this is the only home Eleanor's ever known, it also feels like it's been forever. We've painted (something we never did while renting), we've worked very hard on a yard that's so far ahead of us we're not really sure how we'll ever catch up, and perhaps most importantly, we've envisioned a future life in this home. We've watched other people move in and out of the neighborhood, made friends, and thought about how nice it will be when Eleanor can walk over to her friends' houses. Chris has acquired things like a pump sprayer, a lawn mower, a grill, and I own gardening gloves, people! We're learning how to do things we never even knew had to be done because we've never owned a home before. Chris has fixed our garbage disposal, a leaking toilet, installed lighting and ceiling fans, mounted a tv on a wall, and reprogrammed garage doors. If you had asked me a year ago whether he could do any of those things I would have said no.

Up to this point, the longest we lived together in one place was 16 months. We hope to be here much, much longer and have been very happy with our home thus far. I love the screened in porch and the open kitchen and living room. I love that it's all one floor and we don't have to worry about stairs or baby monitors unless we're outside. I love the space and the yard, and not having to share walls with neighbors. I love having a garage, particularly! I don't have to get wet in the rain or worry about carrying groceries and a baby up three flights of stairs in one trip. There are lots of things that I love about where we've chosen to be for now, but mostly, I just love that it's ours and that we have a place that we feel happy and safe and in community. Honestly, is there much out there more important than living in community?? I like my alone time and everything, but I just don't think I'd be capable of raising a kid without the support of our friends and family nearby.

So here's to hopefully staying put for awhile, to learning how to do more things we don't know how to do, and to another year and more of investing in the people around us and the place we've decided to settle into.