I want to go back... a little.....

We recently graduated our oldest daughter from high school.  It is a huge milestone!  I think back about all the years that have past and so much life that has happened.  I also begin to remember as I see the anticipation of all the graduates whether it is high school or college and the hope and dreams.  I think back to how excited the little things were, although at the time they were huge.  I remember the excitement of planning out the future.  How thrilled I was with my first car (even though it was Chevy Cavalier) it didn't matter that it wasn't fancy, it was mine.  It symbolized freedom to be an adult. I remember sitting in my first apartment, which was the first floor of a really old house, 4 simple rooms but feeling unbelievably amazed that it was mine to decorate and take care of.  My floors to wash, my kitchen to cook in....  I couldn't wait.  The first year in that apartment I would clean everyday and bake and ohhh how I loved to check the mail!  I was newly married and we had a young daughter and I would wake up excited to take care of my adult life.  We had little money at the time, so we had to scrape up some crazy recipes and eat at my parents house a lot.  We had no money for a lot of holiday decorations so I would pull out the construction paper and let my daughter go to town decorating, we made paper chains and while it looked cheesy it was beautiful to us!  Then we bought our first house.....it was over 100 years old, broken, asbestos covered, on a busier road, falling apart, water smelled funky, haunted.....beautiful house..  We were so excited.  We had a yard to take care of, a porch to sit on, I felt so much pride taking care of and driving up to our house.  I loved having a house big enough to have family and friends over.  It was so exciting and it didn't matter how small or insignificant or crazy bad investment it was.....it was mine!  The other day as me and my husband drove away from our much larger, much nicer, unhaunted house I told him...we have done really well in life..... but somehow the better things got the less exciting it has become...House work became a chore, yard work became a chore, we get tired of eating the same foods, the decorations never look good enough.....I want to go back.... somehow living with less and living within the reality of our income and ability was so much more satisfying! God was right learning to be content with what you have brings joy!