Now That I’ve Met Oprah… My Dreams Are Out of Control
Ok, I know you’re probably tired of hearing about this by now. I promise not to go on and on. You can read all about the Oprah experience here and here. But what I need to vent about today is the aftermath from the experience. The elated “I can do anything” feeling, now that I’ve crossed a biggie off of my dream board.
The next day I was in a hotel room with a couple of friends discussing some dreams and plans for the future. When one of them casually mentioned her land in Florida my ears perked up and I swooned.
We have a beautiful home in a great location and I love it. I was totally ok with chilling here until retirement even though our yard is teeny tiny and the view out of our side windows is the brick of our neighbors homes. I am still ok with it. Even with a new baby, we have enough space and everything we need. But lately I’ve been thinking “what if…?” What if I could have what we want?
If anything was possible what kind of home would I want to live and raise our kids in? Would I have given up on my dream to have an acre lot with oak trees and plenty of space for our kids to run, explore and play in our own backyard? Now that we’re starting over again, we’ve reset the clock on early parenthood. What do I really want?
My goal? I don’t want a big house. Actually a place about the same size as ours (about 2000 sqf) would be perfect. If I could pick this place we built four years ago up and plant it in a different spot with a bunch of oak and fruit trees (and add a detached third car garage) I’d be pretty thrilled. And if the timing is right I’d also love to keep our current home as a rental.
So there’s that. The idea is in my head. The seed has been planted. I’ve got my eye on a prize and it’ll be hard to back down at this point. I’ve been driving around neighborhoods, snapping photos like a stalker and bookmarking previously sold listings (the perfect house isn’t for sale yet). I’m looking around at items in my house that I could get rid of so we have less to pack when it’s time to move. And I may or may not have already had a conversation with a realtor. I’m motivated to work my tail off with this goal in mind. My daughter has even gotten in on it. She requested to come along on a ride with me to browse homes and oooh’d and ahhh’d the whole time at the prospect of a new adventure.
What does my husband think about all of this? Oh, good question.He mentioned putting a picture of our current home on his vision board, along with a photo of land with a big X through it. He’s not enthused or amused. He never wants to move. At least not until retirement. He has a pretty plush man cave and he’s comfortable. But I told him about my plans and he knows how I am once I set my sights on a goal. I’m a determined woman on a mission.
I absolutely love our home. And I believe in the importance in being grateful for what you have. I’d be be fine if we stayed here. But I also know there’s room for aspirations and growth. And when you’ve just met Oprah, by golly, no wonder if you feel like you can take on the world.
Tags: dreams, goals, house shopping, moving
YES! This is exactly where I am right now too, well except the whole meeting Oprah part 🙂
I think it’s wonderful to be able to shop for your dream house/land without major constraints (like moving to a new city for a new job and you must choose by such and such date). I’ve been looking for a few months now, and while there have been a few “almost” houses, I’m holding out for the one we REALLY want. Good luck in your search!
Haha, the Oprah moment just make me reaffirm my beliefs that anything is possible. I love that we’re in the same place! It’s fun to look without pressure for sure and nice not feeling like you have to jump at just anything. Are you guys using a realtor or just browsing? Thanks so much for the good luck wishes! Same to you! Let me know when you find the perfect house!!
Our house now is the one my husband grew up in; we bought it from his parents about a decade ago. I don’t particularly like the house. It’s small, cramped, the layout is awful and difficult to work with, there’s no master suite, etc. The back yard is a decent size, but 4/5 of that is an overgrown steep hill, so not exactly usable space. I dream of moving to a larger floor plan (this is about 1500sqft with a finished basement) with an expanded kitchen, and lots of land for a huge garden and playset. We both have well paying jobs, and could afford to do this.
However, as my son runs outside every day to play with all the kids on the street, I know we’ll never move. The problem with living on an acre is that your next door neighbor is an acre away, and the one beyond that is another acre away. There’s no common sidewalk to ride bikes; no culd-a-sac to place a basketball hoop. Playdates are set up with friends from school, but there’s no large pack of multi-aged kids running around and inventing games and solving interpersonal problems. So I’ll choose the less desirable house (sufficient, but stifling) for the better childhood experience.
WOW! That’s so special to live in that home and keep it in the family. We have a slope in our backyard too that has annoyed me the whole time we’ve lived here but my husband recently dug a ditch so the trampoline is level and I’m loving it now. It’s so true with loving having a neighborhood and kids to play with. I love our little street but I can’t stand all the cars parked on the narrow streets and how hard it is for people to see the kids playing (and with the small front yards there’s only room to play in the street together). The places I’ve been looking with an acre lot, the land is all in the back. So your neighbors behind you are really far away but driveway to driveway/ across the street isn’t bad at all. Definitely less neighbors though and depending how many kids there are you may or may not have a bunch nearby. Decisions decisions! It’s at least nice to love where we’re at for now!
Kids definitely need a lot of space inside home. This helps them to explore their activities and feel free, although you might wanna have an eye on them!
They need not only space indoors but outdoors as well. Its essential to bring kids outdoors with nature. Playing in the lawn, bike riding, skating, playing in play ground.. It could be anything. But I guess they need to play outdoors more than playing indoors.
Anyways, my point is that its necessary to have a spacious home rather than having a congested home.
Their mind feels more relaxed when they get their space to do all their naughty kiddo stuffs.
A decent affordable spacious home along with access to play outdoors.
Thanks Kevin. I totally agree!
There’s definitely a benefit to being able to take the time to slowly look for something else instead of having the pressure of finding the perfect home and perfect neighborhood right now (such as with accepting a new job). If you find a neighborhood you love with lots of kids playing outdoors and not crazy traffic or dangerous car situations, you can start stalking the neighborhood facebook groups while waiting for the perfect house to pop up on the market. In my neighborhood, a lot of people have heard such great things about the area from friends and relatives, that they join our FB group looking for information on houses that will be going on the market soon, but haven’t been listed yet. That way they can get “first dibs” on some of the best inventory because they made a personal connection to people.
Oh my goodness Delora that is genius! I didn’t even think of that. I need to see if I can sneak into some groups. haha. Thank you!
I really enjoyed reading your post!
I’m happy to hear that!
I like your blog. Hope that everything is ok.
I appreciate your sweet comment. Thank you.