A Little Sweeter at Home

People tend to wait for the proverbial 'door to open.' Some offer hope to their disappointed friends by saying, "When one door closes, another will open." This statement made me think, what about our windows of opportunity? Windows of opportunity are favorable options for doing something that must be taken immediately. Windows open; however, in time, sometimes known or unknown, the window lowers itself back down to a closed position. If you don't take the chance, the window closes, and you miss that opportunity. My question is, are we ignoring the windows of opportunity because we are waiting for a gold paved path to a huge leaded glass French door? Are we missing out on humble beginnings because we seek more substantial options?  What if the little window we have to crawl through means freedom? What if the small window can be remodeled into a large French door? Are we waiting for the perfect option? Unfortunately, an ideal opportunity may not exist. Are we missin

Today as I was driving to my father's house, the interstate was busier than usual. Usually, you just fly onto the roadway with a glance to make sure no one is coming. This day was different. This time, I had to carefully merge between a semi-truck and an SUV to get onto the interstate.  After squeezing into my spot on the road, I just drove, keeping up with the semi-truck in front of me.  I went several miles with no thoughts about anything, almost robotically. At that moment, I was very content in my lane.  When I happened to look down at my speedometer, I noticed that I was going five miles under the speed limit, which is entirely unlike me. After realizing how comfortable I was in the right lane going slower than the speed limit, it made me think about life and the decisions we make along the way. At that moment, I was content going slow and enjoying the ease of not making any moves. I thought about times in my life that I had periods just like that: comfortable and with the flo

When I think about the times I have been away from my home, whether taking a vacation or visiting friends, I have always felt happy to return home. No matter how nice the hotel or friend's house is, It is never as comfortable as your own dwelling.  In particular, I have a very modest fixer-upper that you can view at holyhooptiehouse.com. As you can see, I do not live in a home that looks like it belongs in Architectural Digest. Far from it! Yet, it is always just a little sweeter at my house.  In fact, I have only lived in my "Hooptie House" for a couple of months; however, it is starting to feel like home. Even with a long list of things I want to change about it, it is still my place. A place that I can relax and unwind after a long day at work. A place that I can hide away from people when I need to escape the hustle and bustle of people and things around me.  Now, my home is far from perfect, and if I were to have you over, you would see all of the projects I have to