Real Life Everybody Loves Raymond?
Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 08:43:51 AM PDT
Here is yet another area in which children change our perspective. What a conundrum. Thanks for the diary, Jen! -Elisa
As I have mentioned in previous posts DH and I are on a mission to buy our first home. After some initial disappointments with the absurd real estate prices here in NJ we came to the decision that a smaller townhouse would be our best option. On Saturday we decided to take a second look at a really cute place that I saw on Friday and asked DMIL to baby-sit DS. While at our drop off meeting with DMIL she causally mentioned to us that the house across the street from her was on the market. She quickly then commented that it was in no way a suggestion that we look at it but rather a comment because the owners only moved in 6 months ago. After she left with DS, DH and I looked at each other and thought the same thing. Was her surprise at the rapid turn over her real motive? Who knows, but it sparked an interesting conversation where we debated the pros and cons of living across the street from them.
I love my in laws dearly, but I'm not sure I want to live across the street from them. While there are the obvious benefits: help with DS and Babypear, it’s a Single Family Home with a garage (whoo hoo!)and a small yard, we know the area really well (DH grew up there and we lived in the next town over when we first moved to NJ 4 years ago), DS would get to enjoy having his Nana so close, and DH's commute would be better than it currently is, there are also some negatives. The draw backs: it is across the street which means we'd have NO privacy, my DFIL is the Frank Barone type who would complain that we didn't mow our lawn right/put the garbage in the right spot/come over just to see what we are doing, the area is very congested which was something we disliked about it when we lived there, and the school system sucks. I could come up with a few more, but I think I've made my point. What shocked DH and I the most was that we were actually considering this option.
Are we crazy for even entertaining the idea? My mom thinks so. When I told her about it she said,” Don’t do it. You'll have no privacy." Her words come from experience as we lived two doors down the street from my paternal grandparents until I was 10. From a child's point of view I thought that living so close to my Memere and Pepere was great! I was ALWAYS over there. My famous last words were always, "I'm bored. I am going to Memere's house" and out the door I would go. All of the time that I spent there fostered a close relationship with my grandparents. If there was tension between my parents and grandparents, I never recall seeing it. Maybe it was some of those memories that drew me to the idea of living so close to my in laws and the thought that DS might have a similar experience.
After sleeping on it, DH and I have decided to make an offer on a really cute townhouse that is 30 minutes away from my his folks. Close, but far enough away.
Am I the only one that would consider becoming the next version of Everybody Loves Raymond?
