For Richer or Poorer

Dear Mrs. Rothwood,

     Wouldn't it be fun to be wealthy enough to put together a home as you please?  

     One of my favorite little things to do since I was a young teen is to open to the back of Country Living magazines and explore the house plans they used to have listed.  I would go room by room and picture myself living there and how I would utilize the spaces.

     Today, I picked up a back issue and found a luxurious sprawling ranch.  The master suite was almost 1/3 of the house!  It had a bedroom with sitting area with french doors to the deck and a fireplace.  Attached was a study room.  Beyond the sitting area was a huge walk in closet and full bathroom with soaking tub and shower!  Let me tell you, I was ready to move right in and stay in that master suite for a long, long time!  

     It is fun to imagine, but I try not to let it eat away at my reality.  Considering that the closet in that house is about the same size, if not bigger, than my current bedroom, I have to be careful to not turn green.  I also realize that we are humble folks and to furnish such a space as I would want it to be furnished would require a lottery win.

     Then, there was the other day when I patted my trusty rusty minivan on the dusty, faded dashboard and thanked God for it.  It isn't pretty.  It isn't luxurious.  The radio doesn't work, the heater's tricky, and the driver's side window doesn't roll down.  But, she gets me safely from A to B and doesn't cost me an arm and a leg to keep.

     I have a heart for junk.  I have a love for used.  Probably because I grew up on second hand and make-do.  I learned to appreciate it and make the most of it.  It is very difficult for me to get anything brand new, and always a rare treat when I do, so I have come to find the creativity and joy in hand-me-downs and yard sale finds.  

     My little cottage is very much a patchwork of whatever I could cob together to make it work, and I like it.  Oh, sure, I would love to walk into the furniture store and custom order a new living room suite.  It would be so much easier to just buy a loft bed for my 2nd son rather than scrounging for how I can make one.  But, I appreciate the effort and creativity and money saving that goes into my scavenging.

     Oh, please don't think that I am fishing for back door sympathy or making myself out to be woe-is-me impoverished.  I am doing neither.  I am just thinking "out loud," and frankly, I am getting the itch to go junking again!  Spring is coming.

Sincerely,

Mrs. D. Scott

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