For a few weeks now I've been talking with my mom about the possibility of listing her house and helping her downsize into a smaller less expensive home.  She moved into and built this home about 3 years ago.  She bought the house spontaneously, despite our efforts of trying to talk her out of it.  She built a 2 story home that was probably at the top of her price range.  She has bad arthritis and can't go up and down steps very well, however there was a first floor master so it would be ok.  She's now regretting building this home, but at the same time doesn't want to leave it.  She told me the other day that when she walked in the door at her old house (the one we lived in for 26 years) it just didn't feel nice.  She said that she really loves the new house and truly doesn't want to leave it. 

She asked me how I felt when I walked in the door of my own house.  Was I like ahhh, it's so good to be in my home and it's so special to me or was it like oh, this is my house.  Sadly, my reply was somewhat like that oh, this is my house.  I bought my house in 2004 when it was a seller's market and homes were flying off the market.  Every-time we wrote an offer on a house so did someone else.  Finally we learned that we had to make sure we outbid everyone else by offering at or above list price.  At the time, this house was the one that best fit our needs.  I think what attracted us most to this house was that our bedroom furniture would fit in the bedroom (we drove our Realtor crazy trying to measure the bedrooms) and I loved the swimming pool.  The house needed some updating.  Upon getting possession, we immediately painted almost every room in the house and remodeled both bathrooms.  Sadly a few, ok, a lot more items still need done 4 years later.   

Truthfully what makes a house a home isn't the amenities it offers, but the feelings you get from being there and memories you make as a family.  We've made many memories here... like the times my family would come over to swim, my mom and Jay getting in water fights with each other in the pool, getting the yard regraded due to the water intrusion, finally getting rid of the ugly bushes, my brother having to be the only person who ever showered in the old yellow tub, bonfires out back with friends and family, 3 new sump pumps in our first year of home ownership, illegal waterproofing from previous owner, family dinners, family cookouts, sitting on the front porch drinking lemonade, neighborhood power outage, etc. 

We've had several fun years in our home and hopefully many more to come!  Hopefully when you think of your house it feels special because of all the happy memories you've made there!