What Are We Waiting For?

Leaves are starting to fall to the ground, so this can mean only one thing…

It’s almost time to put up Christmas lights!!

OK, OK, not to worry, we are not putting up Christmas lights…just yet. But as autumn nears, we are getting more excited to embrace all the seasons. And this includes some decorating for fall, followed by a layering for Halloween, and, ultimately, bringing out the big guns for Christmas! Anyone who has ever lived near us knows just how much I live for decorating at Christmastime. 

This love goes way back and, truthfully, that’s a story for another time. But what I can tell you is Opal and I have been dreaming of our forever home ever since we were dating. For over 20 years, I’ve been dreaming and stating, “all I want is a house on a street in a town with a sidewalk.” We both could envision the white historic house with the big front porch and the rockers and porch swing. And I could just picture this place all decked out at Christmas too—white lights lining the driveway and every roofline, wreaths on every window, and garland on every porch column. The dream we had for this place we’d call home never changed, but the route we took to get here deviated from our values and, as a result, shelved our dreams. 

But two years ago, we got crystal clear on our values, took time to really rediscover our dreams, and, ultimately, designed a life that honored both. And once we had a clear image in our minds of what that life would look like, we looked at each other and said, “Why wait? Whose rules are we following, and what are we waiting for?” So, we did it! 

We now have the front porch where we sip our coffee on an August afternoon and talk about when we will start stringing the lights. We have the house on the main street in a little historic town that allows us to share our love of Christmas with others—not once we retired, not after the kids have all moved out, but now. 

We all have only one life to live. How we choose to live it can make all the difference.