Space Invaders
Heb. 13:5 “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”
At the moment, I am really battling with contentment – or at least, the lack thereof. I won’t pretend that I don’t want to be rich; I do. But that’s not the problem. If I could consistently pay my bills with my income, while at the same time occasionally having some down time (or even just a little sleep), that would suit me fine.
No, the problem is being content with such home as I have.
I’ve been trying to work out why it should be that living in this little cottage is driving me crazy. Because really, living here makes a lot of sense.
The Benefits of Down-Sizing
- It’s very easy to clean up: there just isn’t that much space for mess to accumulate.
- It’s cheaper than anywhere we’ve lived before.
- It’s close to everything.
- Our landlord lives right next door, and the family is very nice.
- It’s a cute little cottage with potential to be made very cute indeed.
So what’s the problem? It’s a no-brainer, staying here.
Well, today I figured it out. I have no space that’s just mine! We’ve converted our bedroom into an office, and as many as four of us work in there on any given day. Most days, I work in the dining room, which is also the classroom. The kitchen is right across from me, and the garage (which is behind me) is also the laundry, craft room, workshop, and storage hole.
Every day, we unpack our lives onto the various surfaces, live our lives a little bit, pack up so that we can live the next bit (say, for instance, a meal), and then start again. Every night, everything needs to be packed out of the way, and every morning it’s unpacked again. There’s no sense of getting into the swing of a project and being able to pick up where you left off. And not a single surface in the house is exclusively my domain.
Now that I know what it is that’s driving me crazy, it’s easier to accept it and deal with it. But I do wish for a bigger house – maybe one with a room dedicated to school, a room dedicated to our business, and maybe (just maybe) DOORS! Who knew interior doors were so very vital?? Oh yes – and more than one bathroom.
