All my life, I've been fascinated by real estate. I think part of it stems from going to Home Shows with my mom, or sneaking through half-built construction projects (with that magic feeling of being able to walk through framed walls). Exploring properties brings stories to my mind and fires my imagination. All my life, I've asked myself a stream of rising questions... What would it be like to live in this place? Who used to live here and what did they love? How did this place shape them? What did it look like before this community was built? How would it affect you to grow up with that view?
Which led to further, more personal questions: If I had to pick one view to look at forever, what would it be, mountains or farm fields or forest or ocean? Which style do I like better, Mid-Century Modern or Craftsman or Edwardian or Victorian or... I even ask myself if I had a farm, what breed of cows or chickens would be best to raise? As if I needed to choose.
Ever since we bought the old church we're renovating, I've found myself asking a new question: Which place do I prefer to be in? There are advantages to living in the city (everything within walking distance, and decent sidewalks to walk on). There are advantages to being at the church (quiet, no traffic, you can see the stars, and you can walk two minutes and see goats and horses). I have to split myself between two beautiful locations, and I don't know which I prefer.
It has finally dawned on me that I don't have to choose which I prefer. I have both options, and I can be happy in both places. I can be happy now and not have to wait until I'm in one place or the other. And that makes me very, very lucky. Of course, I've always known intellectually that happiness is something you carry with you regardless of circumstances or surroundings. Most of you are probably saying to yourselves, "Duh!" But somehow, lately I've just been understanding it on a deeper level.
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