Monday, June 28, 2010

Loft Life: Personal Freedoms

My husband announced the other day that he kind of misses yard work. I suggested he find some friends who want their lawns mowed, and assured him his whim would pass. 

What he may really mean is he misses being outside more--having a place to put a lawn chair and read, or a porch, or a deck for barbecuing, or something more on that order. 
Because, I assure you, that when he had an acre to mow, the “extras” like edging and trimming, and certainly digging and planting, were not his bailiwick. He did have a fondness for his fruit trees. I remember when one summer we left for two weeks, and came back to windblown fruit trees, where his cherished first harvest of plums lay on the ground, he was truly sad.
But, he's a metal kind of guy. Tinkering, garage projects and the like always trumped yard work of any kind.
It did get me thinking though about our apartment/loft life which, for me, affords us the freedom to pick up and leave, travel, with almost no notice at all. And, since hubby works at the airport, convenience, added to freedom, makes travel very easy. We have been to California four times since March, three times for business, and once for our youngest daughter’s lovely Santa Barbara wedding. It was so wonderful to fly out for five days, and come back to loft life that hadn’t changed at all: no lawn to mow, no weeding to do, no pets, no major cleaning or laundry to catch up on. It really is quite amazing to have a loft apartment and just have so much freedom to do what we want to do here, and then to travel whenever we like with no arrangements to make for any of the home owning responsibilities.
Occasionally I look at the houses we pass on the way to church, or to the mall, or a friend’s house and I wonder if I will ever want to change this loft life status. There is a down side. When we get an invitation to a holiday celebration, we feel a bit awkward that we don’t have a place that lends itself to entertaining large groups, so we feel that there isn’t the reciprocity we know is good manners. One family consistently invites us to share in their family picnics and holiday festivities. We love them so. And, this is when I contemplate whether we should be looking into buying something here in Connecticut. 
But, then I think, maybe there is a more creative way to accomplish this. A park, a beach, a time share property. Something other than giving up this amazing lifestyle of freedom. I’ll keep you posted.