Ten Years Ago

On this day 10 years ago we sold our previous house, bought, and moved into our current house. My mom was there with us that day, which was a big blessing to me as Nadia turned three months old that very day. I wasn't getting much sleep at night, and I also had gone back to work (FT) when Nadia was 8 weeks old. This marks the first time in my life that I've lived 10 consecutive years in the same house. Paul lived more than 10 years in the house where his parents still live. From 1972-77 I lived in Clearfield, PA, 1977-78 Birmingham, AL, 1979-81 DeSoto, TX, 1981-1990 Glenn Dale, MD, 1990-92 Cedarville, OH, 1992-94 Glenn Dale, MD, 1994-96 Arnold, MD, 1996-2000 Port Carbon, PA, 2001-04 Pottsville, PA, 2004-08 Catawissa, PA, and 9/24/08 to present Watsontown. When I bought my first home (January 2001) I didn't expect we'd live there for decades, but I didn't think we'd be moving 3.5 years later. When we bought our second home (July 2004), that time I remember saying the day we moved in that I hoped we would live there for decades. That house was much cheaper

than our present house and also involved a much shorter commute to work for both of us. If I could go back in time, I think it would have been better if we had never moved in 2004. We moved so that Paul's commute to PSU (which he made from 2008-2012) would be shorter. We didn't look at many houses when we bought our present house because we assumed it would be very temporary (3-4 years). Ironically this is the house where we've stayed the longest in our marriage thus far.

We do like the house aside from the occasional problems with water in the basement. The kids have more children to play with in the neighborhood than they would have in our previous house as the houses were fewer and farther between out there. When we moved in there were three of us in the house. Now there are five of us plus two guinea pigs. It was definitely easier to keep the house clean when we first moved in, but I will take a messier house over an empty nest any day of the week! I was reminded of this last Thursday. The kids spent

the day at their grandparents house while Paul was at work. I gave them the day off of school work in light of our vacation being cancelled. I got home from work around 5:45pm, but the kids and Paul didn't get home until a little after 8pm. It's hard enough being away from the kids when I'm at work. I come home to an empty house on Tuesdays because they are at gymnastics. I'm grateful that normally I don't come home to an empty house on Thursday.

The first few years we were here I didn't make many changes to the house because I thought we weren't going to live here very long. I remember telling my mom that if we ended up living her on a more long term basis the first thing I would do is replace the carpet in the dining room. Ironically, in the last two years we replaced the flooring in several rooms but not that one. Since the dining room table has become a Lego table, it doesn't really bother me that there is carpet under the table. I will insist that the table be cleared off before Christmas as we will need to use that table for eating when are hosting the Benners,

Maurice, my dad, and Margie at Christmas. Ironically, the most expensive project is one I regret that we undertook. We had a fence installed in 2009. It has never been helpful for us, and it has created extra work (weed whacking under it and cleaning the fence). Although I'm not a dog person, if we end up getting a dog some day, it will help me feel better about the thousands we invested in the fence. Back then I was trying to decide whether to replace the deck or get a fence. I wish I had picked the deck back in 2009! We are going to do something with the deck this fall. I'm thinking of hiring someone to build some steps and eventually Paul can put down some concrete pavers to make a small patio for the grill. Speaking of cleaning the fence. I spent over two hours cleaning it on Saturday and it looks better than it has in years.

When we were in Maryland last month, my sister asked me if I had considered moving to a house that would be closer to work for both Paul and I. Although I'm not a fan of having a longer commute, I really don't want to move. Moving is such an exhausting, stressful, and time consuming process. We will lose money on this house when we sell it. We have put time, effort, and money into fixing up the house over the past two years, and we'd have to start all over if we moved to a new house. Plus, if we moved we would have to borrow more money as the houses are more expensive there, and I am trying to get out of debt his year so that if I return to being a SAHM it will be more possible to live off of one income. We shall see how long we end up living here! It's the only house that Ian or Oliver have ever lived in and the only house Nadia remembers since she was an infant when we moved here.