I want a house.
With a yard for the kids to play in.
With a garden for flowers, food and herbs.
With a front room for the adults.
With a rec room for the kids.
With enough space for family barbeques.
With ample storage.
With a bright and roomy kitchen.
I want a house.
But all of these things come at a cost; our current townhome is five minutes from my mother-in-law and fifteen minutes from my parents, despite living in an urban centre, we have a beautiful park literally across the road. We are a ten minute walk from the skytrain that connects us to downtown Vancouver and we can easily walk to the mall or grocery store. This pedestrian accessibility of our neighbourhood speaks to the concept of 'smart growth', but despite my love for the environment that's not on the list for why we stay.
One of the reasons we bought our townhouse is the yard; we have a small, private, west-facing yard and over the past few years we have really made it our own. The hubs and my Dad built a beautiful deck made of 'plastic wood' that won't rot and will stand up to our wet west coast weather and the hubs also built me a raised flower bed for our raspberry bushes, which are nostalgic for me, and strawberry plants, yummy! This year we are also trying an upside down tomato planter, even though we aren't really tomato fans.
The garden takes energy to maintain but also provides it; sitting in the garden is both refreshing and rejuvenating. If and when we move, it will likely be the thing I miss most. Although I want a house with a bigger yard and more space I'm not so sure I'd want to leave our townhouse in the middle of its most beautiful season of the year.
How much space does your family have? Do you wish you had more or even less?
