26

When I was 26, we bought a house.

Thanks to the economy, an $8,000 tax bonus, and FHA loans, it turned out to be a perfect time for us.  Matt's best friend was moving back to our side of the state with his family after graduating college.  They were looking into buying a house and so we went to tour one of the model homes with them.  Matt and his buddy were talking about the details of how much this was costing them and we began to think, hey, we could do this.

There were cons.  Money would be tight.  My commute would be quite long (an hour each way).  And, that's all I can think of...

There were lots of pros.  We would be making an investment, instead of continuing to pay rent.  We would be moving back into the ward that Matt grew up in and that my family had lived in for four years.  Our house was bigger than we ever dreamed we could afford.  We'd be 10 minutes from Matt's parents.  Again, the economy and financial situation were aligning.

To me, the biggest reason to do it and make the sacrifice was that we were putting down roots.  Giving Henry a home and a neighborhood and a community to grow up in was priceless to me.  He was only three months old when we signed the papers.  We moved in when he was 8 months old.  I love the people around us and I love this home.

Because I was raised traveling the world, I can't help myself.  Sometimes I feel wanderlust.  I wonder what it would be like to go live in a new place and have a fresh start.  But that feeling doesn't usually last very long.

We have been here for three and a half years. The longest I have ever lived in one house was four years.  I think about that and I think how short it is and how difficult that would have been for my parents to have to pick up and move so quickly and so many times.  No, thank you.  We are happy to be here and happy to stay here.