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Christi Diggs
on May 23 2013 - 06:00 AM
A drop of spin, a cup of deception and tsp. politics=Apathy
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Lindsay Metcalf
on May 22 2013 - 06:00 AM
When that tornado siren sounds, I'm in the basement
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mara williams
on May 21 2013 - 06:00 AM
Summer break has this mom on a house upkeep war path.
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The other night I was doing my weekly sit and wait gig while my sons were at Scouts. Armed with my newspaper crossword puzzle, I alternated between trying to guess the words and having a conversation with the other parents I shared a table with. I really relish my keep-my-brain-from-turning-to- mush time so I tried to ignore the conversation until it started to jump towards where we wanted to live. Someday.
“Buckner,” stated one lady, who dreams of a large piece of land and neighbors not riding her heels. One was happy with where she lived, in suburbia, because she had her fill of the country growing up. Excited, ready to share my “where I want to live” dream I piped up enthusiastically, “When my kids are out on their own I am going to sell my house and live on the Plaza, in a maintenance free home!” “That is so expensive!” one said. “Too crowded” another lamented. My shields went up and now I am on the defensive. I wanted to bury my nose back in to my soothing crossword, no matter how challenging that might be.
Sure, the Plaza is my dream. I would be content to live very, very near the Plaza. Am I unhappy where I am now? No! I have a house, one that I am very happy with that is my very own. It is in a nice city, with great schools. I never dreamed of being here, but this is where a series of events placed me and I have been quite content. The kids like the schools, their friends and the (somewhat) green yard, with their big, inviting trampoline. I am close to three grocery stores, a major theatre and all of the big name stores that mean anything to anybody. We are even pretty close to a mall, a super plus for the teenagers in my life. I can afford my mortgage and my bills and I have room enough to have my big, snuggly dog and adorable but aloof cat.
I have learned though, during my years as a renter/home owner that there are some things about having a house that I can live without. Yard work tops that list at number one. I like pretty grass, beautiful flowers make me smile and gurgling fountains make me giddy but I don’t really enjoy doing any of the work involved in making those things happen. I keep up my yard, with the help of the kids, so that the city doesn’t slap me with a ticket. I jokingly tell my friends that if I could pour concrete in my yard and paint it green, I would be happy. I wouldn’t do it, but I think about it. Seriously. Number two on my list of things that I am not fond of is home maintenance. Worrying about broken furnaces, leaky roofs or gutters clogged with leaves are not my idea of fun. I can fix many a broken item, but do I really want to? I would be lying if I said yes. Just like I didn’t really want to shovel snow during any one of our lovely snow falls this past winter, each time wishing I lived in a maintenance free division. I muttered not-so-nice-things under my breath each time I shoveled. I even like winter.
When my kids are grown and established, I see myself packing up and moving close to the midtown/Plaza area where I lived when my oldest daughter was born. I can see myself walking in the park with the Shuttlecocks or another one with the fountains. I would love to drive five minutes to church instead of the forty minutes I drive now. I could even take the bus. I would lessen my jaunt to work everyday. I wouldn’t mind working side-by-side with someone else in a community garden or planting tulips on Troost, I just wouldn’t have to do the work all by myself.
So go ahead, scoff at my Plaza dreams, but my vision is maintenance-free.
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