Being content with what we have

On our walk yesterday N and I were mulling over, yet again, the 'do we/don't we' move question.  Is it the right thing to do at this point in our lives?  We can't move without selling the flat, so any property we look at and like is sold before we can make an offer, and the fact is that there has been so little interest in this property, which we both agree is not something we had expected.  Perhaps we are meant to stay put.

Yesterday evening I checked out the Down to Earth blog, as I do most evenings.  It still makes me smile that I read tomorrow's post today, due to the time difference - Rhonda's up and about and we haven't even been to bed the previous day!  Well, I was gobsmacked when I read her latest post - I think she must have been listening into the conversation N and I had that afternoon.  It was quite spooky, really.  She spoke about being making the most of what you have, right now, where you are.  The phrase she used was 'bloom where you are planted', and for me that has created a very powerful image.  I was so amazed that she chose to write about the very issue that is causing us such uncertainty right now, that I left a comment on her blog which she kindly published.  Looking at the blog this afternoon, Rhonda has clearly hit a chord with this post, as there were many other comments from readers in a similar vein.

N and I talked more about this dilemma again this afternoon, sitting out in the garden with a cuppa.  We both acknowledge that we have changed so much since we left work 18-20 months ago.  We certainly didn't foresee these changes, but we have slowed down, and embraced (without really realising) a simpler lifestyle that seems to suit us.  We have stepped away from the 'got to have, need to have' lifestyle that society seems to expect of us; that the ad-man urges us to have.  We don't look to have the latest, the newest, fastest, biggest and shiniest gadgets around. We have become content with what we have.  So why are we looking for a bigger house and a bigger garden that we will need to fill with more stuff than we have and cost us more to maintain?

We looked at our little garden.  We measured it out (28 foot square, including with greenhouse and potting shed).  We looked at ways we could optimise it's potential, move beds around, open up bits of ground not currently being used.  Could we insulate the shed to make greater use of it in the colder months?  Could we have pots of perennials on the path leading to the garden?  

We looked at the flat.  We have always impressed upon everyone who visits the many positive aspects of it - in fact we have struggled to find many negative things about it, and any niggles can usually be worked around.  As we've pointed out the many features to prospective buyers, they usually end up saying that they're surprised we want to move because we sing the praises of the flat so much.  So, just as we did with the garden, we looked at each 'negative' point in the flat to see if we could work out a compromise.  Could we lose some furniture in our bedroom, move the sofa around, and fit a desk into the window to be used as a workbench?  How many times, realistically and honestly, was the spare bedroom actually going to be used as a bedroom?  If the bed was folded away (it's quite a neat design) would that provide adequate room for sewing or model-making?  Could we re-do part of the kitchen to accommodate a new full-width oven instead of the slimline version which is old and not very efficient, and struggles to cook more than one thing at a time? 

The real question is, can we be content with what we have?  Have we actually got everything we need, and could we, with a little vision and creativity, transform what we have to satisfy our wants?  And that would cost a lot less than a new house!

It will be another six years before I am in receipt of my (very small) works pensions, and then another few years before either of us gets a state pension.  At the moment we get by on N's work pension, and savings/interest.  We make a little go a long way.  It's possibly not the right time to be moving house.

The discussion will continue.  Having talked ourselves into moving, we are now talking ourselves out of it.  Here's hoping for a swift resolution - we don't like uncertainty!