Happy Blog Action Day!

I was 10 when my family moved to the States - to the suburbs. We had lived in Hong Kong so you can imagine the contrast. The neighborhood that we moved into was still new so there were plenty of open fields. We would ride our bikes and play in the fields - I remember playing T-ball quite a bit. In any case, I look at my own kids and wish they could do the same. Sure, we take them to the park but it's not the same really playing in the dirt, climbing trees, etc. The old neighborhood is all built up now and I really wish for the kids to have free reign of wherever they play. I'm looking forward to moving into the new house; it's an average size lot but it's right next to a spring and it's all overgrown with plenty of space for the kids to explore. (That's the view from the living room.)

There's a trend now to build McMansions closer to the easements, which I don't get. You're then left with a 2 ft strip of lawn you have to mow - for what? A dog run? It seems to be unusable space to me. So you water, mow, fertilize the lawn for what? I just don't get it. Actually I do: it's not the outside that shrunk, it's the inside that got bigger. And don't get me started on that.

It would be hypocritical of me to stand in the way of someone's dream of building their own home. But I would ask of them to consider what you sacrifice in pursuit of more square footage.

P.S. Happy Birthday AC!