Still dreaming of the six bedroom house with room to swing a cat, I approached my husband gingerly about the open home in thirty minutes. "Go ahead and have a look," he said."Will you go with me?" I asked. I was still in a state of shock that he hadn't given me the extensive list of reasons why we're not ready to move yet.
"Nope, you can go." But I really wanted him to go too. He's Mr Dependable, Mr Reliable and very Mr Practical. This is the man who insisted we buy a set of bakeware as a wedding gift, you know, cake and muffin tins. It was thirteen years ago but I still remember.
THE BIG SLIP-UP
My husband has been living by a motto, which until recently, I was unaware. "Happy Wife - Happy Life." Somehow he let that little gem slip right out of the vault and now I can get almost anything I want. (How long this window will remain open, is anyone's guess but if I don't abuse it too often, who knows?) So when I quoted his motto back to him he folded like a deck chair and we were soon in the car on our way to the open home.
All I wanted to do was go inside and see the kitchen and the 'cat-swinging-space' but Mr Practical wanted to check out the front garden and down the side of the house first. I was patient. Eventually, we tracked through each room. Mr DIY lagged behind tapping on walls, pressing on floorboards to find creaks and pointing out every hairline crack or piece of peeling paint. Practical but just a little annoying. His tapping kept interrupting my alfresco-dining-with-girlfriends-under-swaying-palms-on-a-balmy-summer's-evening scenario emerging in my imagination.
After a brief interrogation by the agent who was dressed as if he were just popping down to the local store to get milk - rather casual, we traced our steps back to the car - deflated.
"It didn't grab me," he said, getting into the car. I had to admit, me either. I cast one last look over my shoulder at what I had hoped would be my oasis and let a disappointed sigh escape my lips.
On our way home, I realised I'd been seduced by square footage alright. But so it is with anything that holds little or no real significance to us, once confronted and seen for what it really is, it no longer has the power to affect our lives or decisions from that moment on.
As we pulled into our driveway, a sense of liberty and excitement grew within. I knew my next move exactly. Reaching for my beloved Ikea catalogue, I skimmed through the pages in search of my next great adventure - a new kitchen. Booh-yeah!
copyright 2010 Philippa Vette
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