What we left behind

I'm borrowing my friend Laura's idea (http://transition2ny.blogspot.com) of acknowledging what you leave behind when you move away from everything you love and know. It's not only good therapy, but in our case, it's particularly relevant since we're interested in sorting out whether we've simplified our lifestyle as a result of migrating across the big puddle. The question that remains is where do you begin? And how far do you take it?

Well, this story will sound a bit like a fairytale. Once upon a time, the Verschuuren family lived in a charming historic home in the Forest Glen Estates, an Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places. It was a beautiful home, with 2 stories and finished basement, bird-friendly landscaping (lucky me!), kids on either side to play with (best friends as it turns out), and plenty of space to play hide-n-seek. Courtenay could watch birds next door in Mill Creek Metropark and Stijn could run and fertilize the lawn, much to Courtenay's chagrin. But life was perfect, or as close to perfect as many would think.

I'm not going to knock historic homes or districts, or anything like that. I admit that I loved living in the Forest Glen while it lasted (4 y). The residents all shared a similar passion for restoring and preserving historic places, and that alone is something I admire and value highly. I also made some great friends, who share my interest in good food and conversation, among other things, and was very sad when it came time for us to leave (I miss you Rochelle, Kelley, Coleen!).

However, the thing I struggled with most about living in our big home was the attitude of my children, particularly my oldest daughter. For instance, it happened more than once that after playing with friends at their homes, she came home and told me that their home wasn't as big. I know kids will compare possessions, but this didn't seem a healthy comparison to make. She was beginning to feel privileged (which she most definitely is) but I didn't want her growing up "feeling" privileged or spoiled.

Hence, one of the reasons to downsize. Now we live in a more modest home with one fireplace - not four, and one kitchen - not two. The kids don't talk about the size of our home anymore and they seem perfectly content. We have the space that we need - it just gets dirtier quicker! Will this downsizing have a lifetime effect on the attitudes of our children? Only time will tell ... but I sure hope it does.