Things are moving quickly now, January seems right around the corner and I would call this time the calm before the storm. Tiffany is noticeably pregnant, but also not uncomfortable yet. I suspect that will change in another month or so. She has the occasional pain in the back and sleeping isn’t always that easy, but overall,\ the pregnancy seems to be pretty easy, at least from the perspective of the peanut gallery.
We’re about to be the proud owners of two houses. We close on the new one next week, the 30th and we haven’t received an offer on our current house. I wouldn’t say I’m looking forward to owning two houses, but in the long run the short term stress will be worth it. The situation also represents two P’s in my 3P philosophy of life. What’s the 3P philosophy you ask?
1)Point of View- I think a person needs to have their own point of view or opinion, not just take someone else’s. Take in as much information as possible from other people and sources and come up with an unique point of view on any particular issue that is yours and yours alone. Sure, someone else somewhere likely agrees with you but the point is you arrived at your point of view yourself.
2)Perspective- Here’s where our house situation comes into play as an example. I grew up in a 1,500 SQ. FT home with one full bathroom in the entire house. Tiffany and her mom at one point lived in a garage apartment while her mom attended medical school. We certainly were not deprived of anything that we needed, but are mothers would be the first to tell you that we were not wealthy either. Now, in a time where many are losing their homes and going bankrupt, we will own two homes and are moving to a 4,000 SQ. FT Home on two acres. Is it an ideal situation to have two houses? No, but it’s far from a bad situation either. Not to mentionthere are children all over this country, forget about other countries, that will go to bed hungry tonight. Our child, who has yet to be born, already has a full closet of clothes, a dresser and a crib to sleep in. I think you see my point.
Sometimes when things are not going perfectly to plan, folks tend to wallow in a pool of self doubt or frustration because, as they say, the grass is always greener on someone else’s lawn. One of the keys to happiness, I think, is knowing you’ll never have everything you want, but to realize you have much more than you need. Ultimately, that’s what matters most. Could it be a hassle having two houses, yes, but we need to keep things in Perspective.
3)Patience- I don’t know many decisions in life that didn’t benefit from thoughtful analysis. There have been times that I know I’ve made a snap decision and it’s worked out well, but that is much less common than making a rash decision or doing something hastily and regretting it later. There’s a reason why when you go to buy a car they tell you the “deal” is only good for that day or why “sales” only last a prescribed amount of time. Retailers want to play on the emotion that you have to have something today because it will be gone tomorrow. They know that if you think hard about whether or not you need something, you’ll likely realize you don’t.. Patience is also good practice when it comes to emotion. I don’t know many people that can’t use some work when it comes to patience in dealing with spouses, children or work issues. I certainly can.
Our realtor suggested we lower the asking price on our current house. I suppose it’s possible that could garner more interest, but no other homes have sold before ours in the neighborhood so it seems to me it would be a little rash to just lower the price after just a month. Our current house would certainly sell fast if we lowered the price substantially and it would be a burden off of our shoulders and that does hold some value, but panicking and lowering the price doesn’t seem too prudent right now, especially considering we are the most aggressively priced house in our neighborhood. We just need to be patient, if we want to lower the price later, we certainly can, but why make a hasty decision now.
So that’s the 3P philosophy, something that I’ve come up with in 31 years of life. Not a great accomplishment by any stretch of the imagination, but better than nothing. Having a child certainly makes a person take stock of where they are in life. It is, after all, one of the great milestones of life.
I was wondering today how I got from throwing a tennis ball against the brick wall of our old house to owning two houses, expecting a child and getting heart burn from a pumpkin spice latte. Ten years ago i could run into a wall and feel fine the next day, today my left ankle aches for no apparent reason and my shoulder cracks if I raise my arm above my head. Those aches and pains are certainly annoying, but there are people who can’t walk, let alone limp for a few minutes and children who will never be able to use their right arm in ways that have and still can. There will be people tonight that have nowhere to call home. Now is a good time to keep things in perspective.
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