Life in the Townhouse

OK, so the negative things are pretty obvious: we moved from 18 gorgeous acres to... a townhouse facing a parking lot and a patch of weeds. And we go from there. The occasional "what have we done, are we insane?" does cross the mind.

As the house-hunting stalls to a seemingly stand-still, what with the builder not thinking we can build our glass-walled, southern exposure palace under our price range (are we surprised?), and no properties appearing on the market, it is time to look at the positive!

To combat the what seems to be an inevitable all around family-homelessness-depression, we must list...

10 Positive Things about Living in the Townhouse! 

1. Husband is walking to work everyday. (So... the commute time didn't change much, but... he's moving his legs!)
2. Need cilantro for the evening meal Cuban stew? Off to the store we go. We can get to the store in less than two minutes. And anywhere in town, and I mean literally, under 5 minutes.
3. We have a garage. With a garage door-opener. We put a car in the garage. My girls, who have no garage memories whatsoever, are constantly fascinated.
4. The kitchen window, above the sink, faces the South, and welcomes bright sun-rays all day. Wonder why I've been lingering around there after the dishes are done.
5. Saturday-morning cleaning is a non-event.
6. Maintenance problem? We call the property manager. We haven't set foot in the hardware store. (For a regular dad I guess this would be a negative. For Husband. it's an extra smile on his face.)
7. Number Four rides his bike to his university classes every day, enjoying the exercise and saving on the ridiculous parking fees.
8. Number Six, my companion in this home during the hours of everyday, points to some interior positives: a great walk-in pantry--I have never had one and love it. Carpeted wide staircase that isn't steep, and easier on the knees. A third bathroom.
9. The girls and I walk to church for piano practice and daily mass twice a week in the afternoon. As far as I am concerned, that is as heavenly as it gets. Old friends, before-acreage-days friends, will remember how I've dreamed of being able to walk to God's house, and there spend prayerful time.
10. We have time, time to hope, dream, and pray for our new home.

(Photos: our townhouse is the south end of the building giving us the southern exposure we desperately depend on. The landscape and wildflowers in the field next to us offer happy-beauty. The interior shots show the post-breakfast kitchen and the sunny schoolwork table.)