Expectations
I am sure many of you have seen the show where young twenty to thirty year old couples are out looking for their first home. I am always baffled when I hear them talk about the following: the house is old, needs too much work, kitchen doesn't have granite counter tops, no master suite with a separate bath & soaker tub...and on and on and on. It amazes me that at such a young age they think that they should have all the things their parents have. Do they not understand that their parents have worked their entire adult lives to get where they are and to have what they have??
The first home we purchased when we were going to start raising our family was over 100 years old. It had good "bones" and definitely needed updating. It had small rooms, an older kitchen and bath and the old plaster walls. We were every happy to have this home and never once thought it was not good enough for us so early in our lives.
Our first child was to arrive a few months after we moved in, so we made sure the first thing we tackled was the baby's room. Over many years as we raised our children we worked hard to add on and update. When we finally had a new kitchen and bathroom it was like winning the lottery. I always felt fortunate to have a home of our own. Most of the furniture we had we obtained from family along the way - new furniture would have been a luxury. We were comfortable and our children had a good home to grow up in.
As I get older I find that all the "things" in life are not so important. I try to instill this in my own children and hope that they can hear me just a little bit. Maybe some of their expectations are of our own making as we raised them and wanted to make sure they had most of what they wanted.
I hope that I am sending a simpler and better message to my grandchildren. Live a good life, be kind, give back when you can, and know that all good things in life come with hard work.
The first home we purchased when we were going to start raising our family was over 100 years old. It had good "bones" and definitely needed updating. It had small rooms, an older kitchen and bath and the old plaster walls. We were every happy to have this home and never once thought it was not good enough for us so early in our lives.
Our first child was to arrive a few months after we moved in, so we made sure the first thing we tackled was the baby's room. Over many years as we raised our children we worked hard to add on and update. When we finally had a new kitchen and bathroom it was like winning the lottery. I always felt fortunate to have a home of our own. Most of the furniture we had we obtained from family along the way - new furniture would have been a luxury. We were comfortable and our children had a good home to grow up in.
As I get older I find that all the "things" in life are not so important. I try to instill this in my own children and hope that they can hear me just a little bit. Maybe some of their expectations are of our own making as we raised them and wanted to make sure they had most of what they wanted.
I hope that I am sending a simpler and better message to my grandchildren. Live a good life, be kind, give back when you can, and know that all good things in life come with hard work.
Comments
Post a Comment