Gary asked, in the comment's on Monday's post, if I would consider moving. I would never say never, but I will say it is highly unlikely.
I am lucky to love not only my city and my neighborhood, but also my house. Though living through two major remodels was a little rough, the result is a home that is perfectly suited to my family. I have plans for some changes that will make it perfect for years to come. Plus, we just refinanced and we were able to do the 15-year loan, so we got the lower rate without having to add years to our mortgage.
Our neighbors and friends that are a year ahead of us on the empty nest dropped by on Sunday to tell us they were selling their house and moving to the beach. We are sad to see them go--though happy to have a house four blocks from the beach to go visit--but as they pointed out, their house wasn't a "homestead" house the way ours is. Which brings me to my big plans . . .
(These are long-term plans--I won't have money to buy a new candle for the next five years!)
A pool. I never wanted a pool when my own children were young because I have always been terrified of the drowning risk and it's really difficult to watch your kids 100% of the time. With grandchildren though, I will be able to watch over them while they play while their parents do the work part of the child-rearing. I'm going to have the pool separately fenced and every other safety feature you can buy.
Room makeovers. Once everyone is really and truly gone and they start their own families, I'm going to redecorate all four kids' bedrooms and put a queen size bed and bunk beds in each room, so that each family has their own space. The two bedrooms that have their own bathrooms will rotate from family to family by some yet-to-be-designed, but very fair system.
I already live in a vacation paradise and I figure that by making my house as comfy and attractive to young families as possible, I will ensure that Grammy and Gramp's, or Nonna and Poppa's, or Grandma and Grandpa's (or whatever they end up calling us) place is where everyone wants to go.
I'm sure some of you will read this and think, "Wow! That's really planning ahead. Nobody is even married yet." You are absolutely right. I am a long-term planner from the word go and I've been mocked for it more than once--but so far it's been working for me, so I'm going to keep right on planning.
What about you--do you fly by the seat of your pants or have a one-year, five-year and twenty-year plan like I do?



