Our house is a very, very fine house
With two cats in the yard
Life used to be so hard
Now everything is easy
'Cause of you
And Our
I'll light the fire
And you place the flowers in the jar
That you bought today.
So sang Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Canada's Neil Young many moons (43 years!) ago. It was an idyllic and honestly unrealistic ode to the home and all its comforts. Graham Nash wrote the song when he was living with another Canadian, Joni Mitchell, and it was a very contented time in his life.
This week we hope to conclude the deal to buy a home in Belleville, our first in a while, since we have been living in a manse for the past decade. No, the home in the photo above is not the one we chose! The house we've found doesn't meet all of our criteria. It is larger than we need, and two-storey rather than one. But there are other important factors, both interior and exterior.
Inside we want enough room for family to gather, even though only two of us will be living there full-time. Check. We want plenty of light in the rooms where we will live most. Check.
Outside is just as important for us. Our desire is to be in a neighbourhood with trees and to have enough room for both vegetable and flower gardens. Check. I want our home to be close enough to my work to either walk or cycle. Check. There is also a bus stop a couple of minutes away.
It is a priority to have ready access to green space and proximity to water. Check. Oh yes, we want to be live in an area that is relatively quiet, because noise pollution is a big deal to us.
We realized as we searched that some of these hopes and expectations are strongly connected to the convictions of our faith. Living with a lighter "footprint" in terms of fossil fuels, trying to maintain physical activity despite sedentary work, growing things, enjoying the natural world -- these are values which we connect with who we are as Christians.
We do trust that if this is meant to be it will unfold in the next few days.
So are we just picky! Do you have values that are important to bring to bear in the place you live? Do you connect the place you reside and your faith?
2 comments:
When I was looking for an apartment in 1981, my requirements were a grownup tree on the property, within walking distance of work, close to a bus stop, and a bathtub. My requirements have not change other than to have outside space for growing things (garden patch or balcony). Good luck with the home buying.
Sounds like a good list, especially from the environmental point of view.
I, like you guys, just revitalized my ride, though I realized that a hybrid wasn't going to cut it for our needs. I, like you guys, bought an SUV, but feel good that once the weather is nicer I will be able to lessen my footprint by walking to the gym, to my mom's for piano lessons, to the store, etc.
Glad you're walking the talk when it comes to minimalizing your footprint!
Good luck!
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