Accentuate the Positive

I feel as though I have spent way too much time complaining and focusing on the negative things about our house. In case anyone's been wondering. . . yes, we knew what we were getting ourselves into. It probably seems like our house is just falling apart, but really it's just a lot of little stuff (and a LOT of cleaning), along with a few major things (like a really old furnace) that we were aware of before we took the leap. This isn't to say that we don't likely have some "surprises" lurking somewhere, but even given everything, we are certain we got a great deal on this house and that it will soon be the perfect place for us!

And so, I'd like to take some time away from all the negatives and tell you a few things I'm really loving about our place so far.

1. Our Neighbors
Our house is one of about six or seven clustered together right across from the elementary school. It's nice because this grouping instantly creates a little boundary to our block and gives some definition to who our most immediate neighbors are. We've already met most of them, and they have all been so nice. I have never been greeted so warmly by my neighbors or felt that they were more eager to meet us! You can tell that people really love being here, and it's been so nice to be welcomed into the fold.

2. Our Finished Basement
For the last four years, I have been waiting for a place to put the litterboxes besides our office. Hallelujah, is it nice to have a place to tuck those things away! The storage is awesome, too, and Dan is so excited to have a space down there where he can have his own quiet writing nook.

3. Our Trees
In our last place, we looked out the window and saw either the wooden fence surrounding our porch or the back parking lot. In the apartment before that, we had an equally stunning view of a busy street and a billboard. Here, even though our yard is small, I look out my window in the backyard and I can see trees! And squirrels! And lightning bugs! Trees were high on my list of things I really wanted, and it makes my heart so happy to look out the window and see so much green.

4. Our Creaky Floors
I suppose this is something that should fall on the "negative" side, but for me hearing occasional creaks on the wood floors reminds me that I live in an old house with so much history. I love imagining what it must have been like when the house first went up in 1928, and who its first inhabitants were, and thinking about all the people and families who have called this place home. At some point, we're hoping we can do some digging around at the Borough office and see if we can find out more about the history of our house!

5. Our Town
I've said it so many times and I'm sure I'll say it again, but we just love Media and would have been heartbroken to leave it behind. Every time we walk out our front door and realize we are only a couple of blocks away from the library, or our favorite pizza place, or a cozy coffee shop, or Trader Joe's, we can't believe that we actually get to live here for good! We feel so fortunate that this lovely little town is going to be our home for many years to come.