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We’ve lived in our current home for 25 years. It’s a modest Cape Cod home in St. Matthews (Louisville), Kentucky. Our boys were young when we purchased it and have long since moved away. We finished the basement in 2000 to have a nice hangout for our sons’ friends and thoroughly enjoyed the years when it was filled nightly with lots of teenagers and college students. Of course, the basement is my man cave now and where my dog and I spend most of our time. Last year we made other major upgrades to the kitchen and upstairs that will serve us well for a long while to come.
A couple of years ago we made an attempt to move to downtown Louisville closer to our work and church, but we were unable to sell our house at the time (largely due to the kitchen and upstairs needing updates) and finally gave up on that idea in favor of sprucing up our current place. In all likelihood, this is where we will remain for the foreseeable future, and we’re both fine with that.
I could be content in all kinds of different homes, large or small. I could even be content in one of the tiny little micro homes you may have seen in the news lately. I guess that’s why I didn’t mind traveling for work years ago and living in hotel rooms about three weeks per month while doing so. That was enough room for me. I can’t stand clutter, so I’d be happy to give away at least half of everything in our house, probably more. In fact, I’d be pretty content just having my basement of our current house, but it would look a little silly without the main and second floors above it. It’s safe to say that I do not measure success or contentedness by the size of my house or the quantity of its contents.
What makes it a great home, though, is that it’s a haven. It’s peaceful. I can sit in my favorite recliner in my man cave surrounded by things that fill my days and evenings. I can connect to or disconnect from the world as I wish via whatever communications channel I choose. I can throw the Frisbee with my dog, watch the little critters come and go from the back yard, read a book, surf the Web, talk with my wife, soak in the Jacuzzi, sip my favorite beverage or entertain guests. I can walk to a nearby park or places of business. I can sit on the patio or on the front porch and see a street full of younger families with little children and their dogs playing.
It’s a good home. It fits us. A quarter of a century ago when we moved here, we were among the youngest families on the block. Now we’re the undisputed oldest couple on the block. That’s OK. It’s nice to be surrounded by the sounds of kids playing.
In a world where so many don’t have a decent place to live, I am truly thankful to have this home as my haven. It is more than enough.
Thank you, God, for my home.
I love to travel. For a number of years when I was self-employed, I was on the road about three weeks per month. That was perfectly fine with me. I enjoyed it. I got to see all kinds of places I would not have otherwise seen. My wife got to join me on occasion. I have very fond memories of most of those trips.
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