They don’t call it the ugly green monster for nothing. Though the dream house you’re eyeing is likely not green (or at least not a bad shade of it). That wouldn’t be cute. But maybe! If it were set high on a hill in the middle of fifty acres overlooking a stream…see, there I go again. We have owned six homes in ten years. Our first was less than 900 square feet. I wished for more space for the dogs and more than one bathroom. Our second home had a kitchen you couldn’t change your mind in (pictured above). I thought if I had a bigger kitchen, I’d magically become Rachel Ray. Don’t judge, she was a big deal at the time. Our third house was on a culdesac with gossipy neighbors and kids shooting nerf darts at our windows. We didn’t have any kids and prayed for privacy. Our fourth home was a townhouse that shared walls on both sides. We could hear (and so could they) the nights after a nice glass of wine highs, the fights lows, and the toilet flush. Our fifth house had an awkward floor plan and Jon had to pee in a bucket so he wouldn’t wake the baby (TMI?!). We dreamed of a playroom and soundproofed walls.

Are you beginning to notice a theme here? The other day (in the 6th and current home) I was vacuuming 4,000 square feet with a 30 pound toddler on my hip. My back was aching and I yearned for the days when I was cleaning our first house, wishing for more room. My point is this. We are all guilty of comparing. Of wanting more. Of thinking the house grass is greener at the neighbor’s. It isn’t. You are right where you are supposed to be, at home. Your current condo, rental, townhouse, backseat of your car, parents basement, first house, mega mansion, is what is helping you get to where you’re going. Your job is to embrace it and make it a space that wraps you in love and positivity every time you walk in the door.

Someone told us the other day we are lucky to live here. We sure do love it. But I wouldn’t call it lucky. We have put blood (admittedly more Jon’s than mine), sweat, and you guessed it – a lot of tears, into each home we have lived in. We have worked tirelessly fixing up the house we were living in to help get us to the next one. So that we could have more space, bathrooms, privacy, land house. But do you need it? Maybe not. Maybe your goal is to get a modest home in an excellent school district so you can save for family vacations instead of square footage. Maybe you hate cleaning and want a smaller home so you have more time for gardening out front. Whatever your house goals are, I have no doubt you are working toward them every day. But don’t be too hard on yourself and let that ugly green monster win. Cheese alert: “A house is made of wood and beams. A home is made of love and dreams”. I warned you. But it has quite a bit of truth to it, no?