Twenty Years Home

February 1, 2004.

Super Bowl Sunday.

That was the day we got the keys to our house. 

I was 20 years old when we bought our home. I thought it was our five-year house. I wasn’t planning on staying here long. I thought we’d be rich soon and buy a really nice, fancy house. Now I look back at some of my ideals from my early twenties and laugh. I have a completely different perspective on most things now. For example, I feel rich. It doesn’t manifest itself the form of a big, new house or fancy things, but whenever we have what we need, I feel rich. Whenever we have a little extra, I feel even more rich. 

I feel especially fortunate to own a home right now when housing costs have gotten so high. Our house is on the smaller side, it’s outdated, and it’s not very showy, but I am so thankful for it! It’s ours, and I’ve grown to appreciate it so much!

To celebrate twenty years in our home, here are 20 things I love about my house: 

1. The size of the lot (just under 1/4 acre) is perfect for us.

2. The front door (currently light blue).

3. Our family room.

4. It’s old and imperfect enough that I’m not worried about damage (every time Nicky puts his head through a wall, I just shrug and go “Eh. I’ll fix it when he moves out”).

5. I can see the front yard and driveway really well.

6. There is only one door that goes directly outside (this may seem inconvenient, but I like the security of it).

7. Our garden.

8. Our sheds.

9. We have a fenced backyard.

10. Our two-car garage was upgraded so it’s a little wider than the standard ones in our neighborhood.

11. Our street is wide enough to accommodate parking on both sides of the street without causing major bottlenecking (okay, this isn’t the house, per se, but it’s still something that matters about the location). 

12. It’s close to everything - freeway, stores, schools, etc. 

13. Our storage room (which we built).

14. Our storage closet (which we built).

15. Our soffit lighting (which Scotty installed). 

16. Our curbing (which we had installed).

17. We still have our original fridge and dryer (but I dare not speak of that lest I should jinx them, so keep this info between us, mmmkay?)

18. The ceilings are low, which makes the walls easy to paint. 

19. We have lots of fun refurbished furniture.

20. It’s almost paid off (right now we are on track for August 2025, but we’re trying to make it happen sooner).