House Hunting

Sunday night

A real estate agent was showing my wife and me a large old mansion made of white stone that we normally couldn't afford under any circumstances. This time, however, we were in luck; it was being sold at a bargain-basement price. I began to get suspicious before we saw the interior. I noticed that some of the stonework on the side of the house had been considerably worn down by the way that water had been draining off of the roof.

The realtor led us inside, and my wife and I became separated among the many rooms. It became immediately apparent to me why the house was being sold so cheaply; it was a dump. Almost all of the walls would need to be repainted, and some of them would need to be replaced, due to the plaster bowing out. Restoring this house would cost a fortune, and would take up all of our time. It wasn't worth it.

I began to look for my wife, and soon realized that she was off somewhere else in the mansion with the real estate agent, affixing her signature to the papers. She'd fallen in love with the place.

*****

In reality, I'm the more impulsive member of this household.

My wife and I have lived in the same home since 2002. It was built in 1920, and we spent a good deal of time and money restoring it. We both still love old houses, but we're not inclined to go through all of that again. We've agreed that if we buy another old house in the future, it will have to be in better shape than this one was when we found it. (Then again, that's probably why we were able to afford this one in the first place.)