Remodeling my spirit...

Yesterday I went on a home tour in Historic Riverside. I had the opportunity to get a feel for what Jacksonville was like in the early 1900's. It was amazing seeing all the old windows, bathtubs, doorknobs, and sinks. Some houses had been remodeled and some not so much. One home in particular that was situated on the river had been significantly redone. It had four bedrooms, not including the one they had turned into a walk-in closet. It was ridiculously huge. They had a fully stocked kitchen with a double oven, and a big back patio facing the river. Man, there were even ladies walking around dressed in french maid outfits passing out hors d'oeuvres. All I could think about as I stood looking out their balcony onto the river was how do you live here and still have problems? You wake up in the morning to this beautiful view of the river; you come home from work where you can sit outside and read next to a beautiful view of the river. How could you ever complain about anything ever again?

Then I reversed the thought. There are probably several people who would walk through my house and think something along similar lines. Compared to some, my house might seem more than enough. So, in line with my own thinking, how can I ever complain about anything again? I wish it were that easy. It's like when you are feeling low and playing the "why me" card, and someone tells you to suck it up cause other people have it much worse than you. Has that ever made anyone feel better about their own situation? Not me. We're too self-absorbed for that. Not in a bad way, but in a necessary way. If we were to take on all of the plights of those less fortunate than ourselves, we'd be buried in grief. And, what good would that do?

So back to the house. It was a very nice house, but regardless of the view, my favorite was the first one I visited. It was built in the early 1900's. It had been fixed up but still had some of the old features, like the old rope-and-pulley system for opening the windows. It had all tin roofs. It had a huge porch/balcony on the second floor overlooking the neighborhood which was filled with huge old oak trees. It was peaceful. It was beautiful. But one thing it was not was perfect, the kind of perfect the house on the river was. And I liked that. It had spirit. And nothing that is perfect has spirit.


Unfortunately, the home tour was a spontaneous adventure, so I was without camera. < Insert photo of cute little kid here. >