You're Either Happy or a Homeowner...

When baby girl was on the way

My dad used to say, “You’re either happy or a homeowner - but never both at the same time.”

It always made me laugh. I didn’t really understand it… until I owned a house of my own.

Especially one that’s celebrating its 100th birthday this year.

There is always something to fix.

Yesterday was no exception. I walked in the door after work, glanced up, and saw it - a wet spot on the ceiling. One look and I knew: the roof flashing.

Of course.

Honestly, all I could do was laugh, which probably made me look a little unhinged to my kids.

Because there’s nothing quite like discovering a problem like that at 6 p.m. - when every repair suddenly becomes an “emergency.”

After a few phone calls to some amazing family and friends, a roofer was on his way. And thanks to my awesome brother-in-law, we even got a bit of a discount - thank God, because I’m not sure I could handle one more surprise expense this month.

But moments like this always bring me back to something simple:

Obstacle → Plan → Action.

That’s it.

My dad also always taught me "A regular guys says 'Here's why we can't' while a leader says 'Here's how we can.'"

So I usually get to the "here's how we can" part relatively quickly.

I can panic… but I’ll still end up in the same place - just more stressed and more exhausted. So instead, I try to remind myself (and my kids): everything is fixable.

Ask for help. Lean on your people. Find a solution.

Because that’s really the choice, isn’t it?

First days home as a family of 4

We can complain, we can sit in it, we can let it overwhelm us… or we can take the next step forward.

There is always a solution. And most of the time, it’s not going to find us - we have to go find it.

For now, the roof has a temporary fix. That’s all we can do until the rain passes.

And in the meantime, we hold on to what matters most:
We have a roof over our heads.
We are safe.
And we can fix big things - even when they feel overwhelming.

There are definitely days when I don’t love owning an old house - the constant repairs, the unexpected problems, the never-ending list.

But then I remember…

So proud of the new paint job, posing while preggo

The first time we toured this house, I was so excited. It felt huge compared to our old place - which makes me laugh now, because we definitely don’t live in a mansion. I remember stepping onto the little front porch and already picturing summer days spent out there - reading, writing, eating, just being. We had a beautiful little staircase inside with a landing window. I was thrilled.

And I remember the spare room - already decorated for a girl - and how I took it as a sign that someday we’d have a daughter.

And we did.

The bunk bed in question -
you can see the little slide to the left

This is the house I brought my family home to.
It’s where we’ve celebrated birthdays, holidays, and ordinary Tuesdays.
It’s where my daughter took her first steps.
It’s where we built my son’s bunk bed - with the slide I was so proud of… until I realized it stopped about six inches from the wall because his room was too small. We laughed a lot about that.

So many Halloween memories!

This house held my dad’s last birthdays.
It’s where I’ve learned how to fix more things than I ever thought I could.

It’s where we trick-or-treated every year to see our favorite neighbors. 

It’s not perfect.

But it’s ours.

It’s home. And it’s good.