Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Less House. More Home.



Many of you who know me have gotten caught up in this conversation with me, as it's something I've been thinking about/ working on/ embracing/ struggling with for a few years now.

Coming up on 3 years ago we moved into our current, sweet 1928 bungalow home. It sits right off Main Street in a quaint, neighborly small southern town, right on the cusp of a cool, hipster city. We love having access to both: the amazingness that is Asheville, while embracing small town life. My oldest child can walk to his school. Firemen literally stop to get cats out of trees (I've seen it with my own eyes). And our downtown parades involve everything from the high school marching band, to Uncle Billy's lawn mowing/lawn racing tractor.

Neighbors know one another. Everyone walks. Kids scamper in and out and around each others homes no matter what the season. And they are cared for and watched after by a village. A community in the best sense of the word.
 

As are the adults. Potluck parties and holiday socials. Casseroles and cards upon hearing of sickness or struggles. Mama's nights out, walking together to the corner wine shop when we're all at our wits end. Checking up on each other. Supporting one another. Growing together.

And here sits our house. Our bungalow. All 1650 square feet of it. With it's era-appropriate creakiness and original glass paned windows. A wide front porch that feels like it's own room (and often is), having hosted ice cream socials and bike pedaling lessons and and late night beer drinking.




We purposely downsized to have all of this, even though our house is small by most American standards. And with two rambunctious boys, it can often feel smaller. Noises echo. Voices carry. Storage is minimal. When a room is in even slight disarray, it's glaringly obvious. When any of our family of four needs a place to retreat, the only semi-safe bet is the bathroom (and don't think you won't be spied upon through the old key-hole and timed for "lollygagging".)

And I can sometimes (well okay, often...) be heard talking about plans for house renovations. Bumping out walls. Adding on space. Buying new furniture. Reconfiguring and readjusting our little bungalow. Stretching it's limits. Maybe in ways that after awhile I realize are not part of the smaller living mindset that I have wanted. That I do want. For myself and our family. Even if I sometimes have to challenge myself to embrace it.

And so, our house then becomes more than a house...it becomes a home. A home which encompasses the neighborhood. The neighbors. The community. Shared driveways and front yards and tree swings. It's easy for many of us to get caught up in More. In Bigger Equals Better. Lord knows, I struggle with it.

But I love what my bungalow makes me realize time and time again: That small homes do create close families. That small neighborhoods do foster real community. And that living in a "fishbowl" (as we sometimes lovingly refer to our open-windowed house in the middle of a busy street) helps us really see each other (just hopefully not naked through my neighbors eyes).

I repeatedly embrace the Bungalow. And I appreciate the Bungalow embracing, and reminding me, what's important.


 


2 comments:

  1. I just love love love this post Jessica. You speak to my heart of hearts here. And you do such a good job at capturing our small town, small living and finding beauty in the things that really matter! Beautifully written.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sounds idyllic...you know...besides the lack of closet space and the bathroom "office"! It takes effort sometimes to focus on what is truly important...and it seems to me you do. After all...no one ever says "There's no place like house"!

    ReplyDelete

I'd love to hear your thoughts!