I'm going to someone's new house today. This someone is an acquaintance; former coworker of my husband, and his wife, and their 2 kids. It's a house that cost literally 3 times more than our house costs. It looks like a castle online because, yes, I'm nosy and I looked it up.
The thing is, they do not come from money. They are regular people. But somehow they managed to finagle this enormous, gargantuan mansion. Is it in a part of town I like? No. It's not. It's in a town I would never live in, part of the sprawl, and it's so new that there are no trees. We live in a house built in the '60s, in a cul de sac, in an area I love with neighbors we adore, who play with our kids and snowblow our driveway without asking, and take care of our dogs when we are away.
But I find myself envious of the gargantuan mansion and it is pissing me off. Not as much as first, because I"ve been working on processing this for a few weeks. Why do I care?
I guess because we are always short on cash. Even though we are both educated, employed people, we never have money to really do home improvement the right way, like our kitchen with cabinets from the 1960s and the refrigerator with duct tape on one of the shelves. Jesus. I'm 42 years old with a graduate degree and duct tape in my fridge.
But do I want that house? No. Do I want that husband? HELL no. He's a control freak. Do I want that neighborhood? No. It's new and cold and doesn't have our neighbors or location or trees or schools.
But I want the ability to have certain extravagances when I want them. And we don't have that. Not even close.
So I'm going to visit the mansion today and then bash it tomorrow at lunch with my best friend.
If he's a control freak, then he's controlling the money and she's probably miserable because although she lives in this beautiful castle, she has no freedom to do the things they want. And maybe things are tight for them too, you just don't see the things that need to be repaired because it's newer. I would much rather live in the established neighborhood than in the stark urban sprawl. BTDT! Remember that not everything is permanent, and things change. You will have the things you want someday. I am totally the pot calling the kettle black here, because I suffer from the same little green monster. But I know in the end I will have the things I want, and for now, our needs are met. I am blessed and thankful for what I have.
ReplyDeleteThat should say *she wants not they want
ReplyDeleteI know, you're right, you're right. I just have to believe it in my head and heart. LOL
ReplyDelete