We visited a realtor today. Just looking for information, nothing formal. But it set me to dreaming of houses, a thread that connects me with all three of my sisters.

We dream of houses the way other people dream of jewelry, or vacations (note: we also dream of those 🙂 ). This past week-plus, spent where summer  days are NOT 100+ in the shade, and evenings dip below 70, have been idyllic. Add the lure of son, DIL, and grandson, and it’s a big draw, Virginia.

So today we went to talk with the exceptionally knowledgeable Jeremy, who was the realtor for my son & DIL when they bought their house recently. It reassures me when someone is obviously very smart — I know, that makes me a bit of an intellectualist, but what do you expect from a writer & former college professor??

As it  turns out, it might be a good bet to build. Now, I have to share something: my husband used to build houses. We went broke doing that. TWICE.  So he doesn’t have good memories of building houses. Given, he was a framing company. But still — it’s not his favourite thing. And I had heat exhaustion more than once, those many years ago, just being a gofer at the building site. Need I mention again that building isn’t a huge draw for my beloved?

Me, however? You get to play house for real! Get to choose wood floors vs. carpet (yup), tile vs. wood (bathrooms only), wall paint (cream/ ivory/ watercolour blue/ grey), moulding, roofing, trim… WOW! How cool does that sound?

So a smallish Craftsman bungalow was one of the possibles from a local builder. Well, actually it wasn’t small. But it could be! (We do NOT need a house as big as the one we currently rattle around in, even if my beloved doesn’t agree…yet. 🙂 )

This is a part of everyday living that’s wonderful: dreaming of a perfect house, that would — of course! — be filled with a perfect life, and perfect days. As my meditation teacher Sister Ellie would say, these are castles that may well be nothing. But at least they’re not worrisome castles (you know: the kind you haunt in your own dreams).

And really: doesn’t a small-ish Craftsman bungalow, not far from the kids, w/ a spare room for the traveling son, sound wonderful? It sure does to me.

Someone asked me once if Buddhists shouldn’t be grounded in the everyday world. And sure, we should. But daydreams don’t contradict that (in my not-humble-enough opinion 🙂 ). Beginner’s heart can live very nicely in a dream house. At least mine can!