A fancy house does not bring joy...

I've always known this, but I just like to remind myself once in awhile.

Two and a half years ago we moved into a brand new house.  It has hardwood floors throughout, 3 bathrooms with very nice, unique sinks.  There is a very nice little front room with a decorative ceiling and I decorated it in a Tuscany theme and I thought I would love sitting in there in the mornings.  I have a "craft/art" room and we have a guest room and lots of space for overnight visitors.  The master bedroom is huge and has a very roomy closet with lots of drawers and shelves.  The master ensuite has a nice big soaker tub for relaxing on a cold winter night before climbing into bed.

The back yard is small and Rod built a very nice paving stone patio out there and it is a very peaceful place to sit and listen to birds and inhale the warm scents on summer mornings.  I really enjoy small space gardening.  Rod built me 4 cedar planter boxes that are easy to take care of.

Are you getting the picture?

Yes it is very nice but do you have any idea how long it takes to vacuum this place? The decorative sinks are a pain in the butt to keep clean and trying to keep on top of 3 toilets can be trying at times. Dust??!!  Due to the construction zone outside and around the corner, we have had tons of dust since moving in here.  That is my excuse anyway.  When in doubt, blame it on the construction. 

It's very huge here and although I do like to sit in the little front room, I hardly have time for it because I'm always cleaning this place!! It's lonely here.  I thought we would be having our son and his family over more often but that doesn't happen.  And when it does, the tenant downstairs gets into a snit because of the noise the kids make.  I'm very tired of apologizing to her.  I mean come on - can't my grandchildren visit once in awhile without me worrying about the noise??  They're children.  They make noise.  So what?  It's temporary so suck it up.  Maybe turn up your i-pod.

So anyway...we have sold our house and will be moving back in to our old house, which has one bathroom, small closets, not much counter space in the kitchen but it has a huge attic (the kind with the ladder steps that come down and you can go up there and walk around and store large amounts of stuff).  It smells like an old house and needs some work.  It also has a huge back yard (which has to be groomed regularly) and an amazing view of the mountains which I have missed since moving into the new place.  My grandchildren will be able to visit us and make noise and no one will complain
I'm just reminding myself that joy is not something that can be bought and it is not found in material things or places.  What I wear or where I live is not important.  Using what I have, being thankful and content in my surroundings is where joy comes from.  Joy also comes from relationships with family and friends; being able to be myself with them.  It also comes from knowing that no matter what happens, nothing or no one can steal it from me.  Just in case I forget...............