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Would like to share my thoughts with you today.?
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While my daughter was creating art with lunch, in our unfinished kitchen, i was thinking about the proce\ss that allowed me to be so grateful our life as it is.?
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10 years ago, I read a text by Sandra Dodd who spoke about her bathroom under construction. maybe I had an image to illustrate because I remember seeing plastics and water leaks. at that time my eldest son was no more than a year old, I had quit my job full time and was still teaching at the university. At the time, it was very important for me to have a high monthly income, a good house, with the works finished and to my taste, beautiful and comfortable furniture. as I no longer earned a full salary, the work on our apartment was about to be finished, the beautiful furniture did not leave the vision board and I was frustrated. At the time, reading about an unfinished bathroom with leaking water because the parents decided that the quality of relationships and the experiences that are lived inside a house are more important than the house itself, gave me a lot to think about.
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5 years later, we left the city center, from our completely renovated apartment, with a stunning view, to a small? and old?rented house,?40 minutes from the center and very cheap. the apartment is still ours, it is being paid to the bank, with the rent of the tenants, and we hope to come to enjoy it one day.?
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For now, we are creating memories in the rented house. Our daughter was born here, we have a? small and?very wild veggie?garden, swing, trampoline, space for dogs, for games, for guests and workawayers in the unfinished and crazy attic. We also have an?unfinished kitchen where delicious and creative foods are prepared. I still have days of frustration with the conditions of the house - and I love watching the fixer upper and love it or list it tv shows while I dream of the ideal house - but I always remember that the important thing is the quality of? our?relationships, it is the love and joy that we create and we feel together at home, not the house itself.?
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Now, when I look at my house, with all its recycled furniture that doesn't always match, the library in the corridor, the porch always wet, the dance of the heaters because it seems that there are always new places to let in the cold, I feel affection and peace. My people feel comfortable at home, they enjoy each space without restrictions. I am not conditioned to a full-time job, to pay for a beautiful house that no one has 100% enjoyed, our bank accounts are balanced - despite the pandemic and economic crisis - our food is good and without budget restrictions, we can pay all the desired toys and games - it is true that they do not have expensive demands - and we may even be able to create wealth to leave to our children (following Dave Ramsey Financial University and learning). No furniture or wall in my life is more important than the people who use it. And, we like to be at home, confinements don't scare us because we're right here, together, we don't need to go out to have fun. This may seem obvious but it is not experienced by everyone and it is so liberating, it feels so good!?
we didn't get here by chance, not even suddenly. in these 10 years, we have been making choices with a focus on our relationships. At each moment, is it possible for us to choose what will bring us more stress or more peace? what will bring us together or away? what is the most gentle choice or action? what can make our home more interesting, more inspiring? And we continue to choose, every day, always creating and living? our nest. Not the most minimalist,?decluttered, modern, cleaned or whatever is the tendency now, no, it is our exquisite,? messy, noisy and lovely everyday life that sets the tone.?
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I'm so grateful for all the shared experiences that allowed me to think, do better choices and be where i am today. This includes all of your photos and house tours, it was so inspiring no see images of real life houses, not instagram perfect shots.?
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I'm sending a few of our images too.?
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Catia Maciel
Sandra Dodd