Our house is not much to look at. It's small, has a relatively inefficient heating system, sits pretty close to a main road, and could use a fair amount of work. The plumbing leaks, the layout is crud, and well, it's just a house. One bathroom. Small, sloping yard. No pool. A detached garage with huge holes in the roof. Right now, the bathroom is in such a sorry state that we decided not to invite friends over for New Year's Eve. We don’t travel much, partly because we’re homebodies, and partly because it’s expensive and time-consuming. We'll never be wealthy, money-wise, but we have enough to live on.
We're lucky, though. We're warm (though sometimes a sweatshirt is in order). We're dry, thanks to the new roof. We're close to stores, close to our jobs, and since we're not too fussy, it's easy to maintain.
The other night, when I couldn't sleep, I wandered around the house. The Christmas lights were still on, so it looked pretty, and everywhere I went, there was a cat snoozing on some surface or other. It wasn't a cold night, so I wasn't shivering, and as I looked out the front window, I could see the slumbering town in which we successfully raised our 3 daughters. I realized how fortunate we are, probably more so than many other people. We'll never be wealthy, money-wise, but we have enough to live on. Our daughters have been successfully launched on the world, and are doing their parts, with the help of wonderful spouses, to do the same with their children. We have family we adore, jobs we enjoy, friends we love, a church filled with awesome folks, and pets to drive us crazy. We can afford to eat decently, dress decently, enjoy time with others and even help those less fortunate than we are.
Life is truly what you make of it. Blessings to all.
