Since day one I have looked at the purchase of my first condo as an investment first and a place to live second, thus I have been managing it as such; like a business rather than as a home. However, being a first time homeowner I expected to have a certain level of emotional attachment to my first condo.
While walking along the beach a few weeks after moving in, a warm fuzzy feeling swept across me as I thought about returning to Chicago in the distant future with my kids, driving past the condo and pointing it out while saying, “Yep, That was Daddy’s first house!”
However those sentimental feelings seem to have presently been subdued by the excitement of flipping my first investment property while preparing it for rental, so for now it is business, I will worry about reminiscing in the future.
Lauren on the other hand has taken more of an immediate emotional attachment. A few weeks after we moved in, Lauren started pestering me about the color I wanted for the bedroom, Blue I answered, not really thinking about it any further.
Shortly after, she started pulling up rugs on the internet, asking me to choose the ones I liked best, building me up for the NCAA Championship of rugs, Colorful vs. Plain, Shag vs. Plush, Print vs. Solid color… but still I didn’t really think much about it and went on my way.
Then again with the questions, “Kirk, what about this lamp at Ikea?” ”What color blinds should we get for the bedroom? We need to match the comforter, I think we should go with an off white.” The questions where flying at me from all directions, after awhile I started to get frustrated, none of these things seemed that important to me.
I had been so obsessed with making sure we had the basics covered, a washer and dryer so we didn’t need to go to the laundry mat, a shower that didn’t leak so we didn’t have to shower in the rain, electricity in the pantry so we could see our food, a dishwasher so we didn’t have to spend Sunday Morning’s on dish duty..
I had placed so much importance on the necessities, and focusing so intently on making the major improvements to get the condo ready for rental. That I had completely overlooked those little things, the little details that would make the condo feel at home while we were living there.
And then it occurred to me that I shouldn’t be mad at her for pestering me about all of these things, because I haven’t been thinking about them, and without her we wouldn’t have thought about them at all. So while we are no longer washing dishes by hand, and don’t need to make any more trips to the laundry matt, it sure is nice that we have a comfy little corner to read a magazine in, a fresh coat of paint in the bedroom, and a christmas tree to spread holiday cheer.
cozy place
Priming the Bedroom
Bedroom
