The prices we pay...

People say that if you are suffering in this economy you have probably made bad choices. I don't really think so. Sure some people bought McMansions. Too many cars. And some of us, some of us, just tried to hold on to a dream. We had a small little home. Energy efficient. Less than a 1/4 acre lot. Beautiful hardwood floors. No, not those fancy Bruce hardwoods. They were grade B Amish planks. They were full of knots and such. They were lovely. They shined. We lived 38 miles from the city in a small community. We had a Kroger, a Wal-Mart and a Bob Evans.

But, the economy in West Virginia has never been strong unless you are in coal. My husband is a engineer but not the kind that would work for a coal company. Besides we don't really like the coal industry. We've seen how they treat the land and the people. Anyway, money runs tight in WV. We thought that we would do well to move on. His job was making noises about closing and moving out of state. This would have been the third or fourth company to do this to us. So we took a new job and hoped for a new life. And our house wouldn't sell. We ended up with nothing to show for all the love and time and money we put into our home. We left with less than we put in.

Well, anyway, I'm sure we made some bad decisions. I know that we did. But I don't think we or anyone else really deserves to suffer for wanting a piece of the American dream. Everyone tells you, you need to own a home. That's the first thing your supposed to do when you get married. When you can't own it, you are left to feel like a failure. When you rent you are considered second class. People get that "look" when you tell them, we're renting. It makes it very hard to be content. Family talks to you about getting you this or doing that "when you get your own home."

You know what, this IS my home. It's not my dream home. It isn't my cabin in the woods. But, it is home. There's a fire crackling in my hearth. My two menfolk are snuggled on the couch watching a movie and drinking chocolate milk.

I don't want to give up my dreams of that cabin in the woods. I don't. But I want it to be OK to be here. I want to hold on to my dreams. Realizing those dreams is going to take a LONG time. In the mean time, I want this path to be OK. I don't want people to treat me like I'm less because I'm a "renter." Not all of us trash our homes, let the dog pee on the carpet or put holes in the walls. And frankly, the nearly $15,000 a year we pay the landlord kind of negates them renting this house to us as a Christian Service. I mean really, you don't have to act like it is such a burden to rent us your house. You have two rentals, telling me you bought something for "all the rentals" makes me laugh. We don't call you about little things. We don't complain. We've called you one time for something in the 6 months we've been here. Telling me all the burdens you face as a landlord gets on my nerves. Telling me to treat this house as my own in the next breath makes me cringe. And frankly, this is no palace. It's a nearly 40 year old home. I think it has the original paint outside. I can see the wood through the peeling paint. My husband patched the eve so we wouldn't get critters. We could have rented something so much better for less money but we loved the yard and the neighborhood. I wanted a big garden.

However, if eating a little humble pie is what we have to do to make it through the next few years, then I'll do it with a smile. Things could be so much worse for us. I am thankful to have this house. Not thankful enough to kiss up to you all the time and babysit your kid but thankful to have a place we like, an acre of yard, trees, leaves to play in, a cozy stone fireplace, a spacious if outdated kitchen and a covered back porch. I love those things.

It's a small price to pay. I'll be a better person for it. Maybe some day I'll own a rental and will treat the renters like they are, you know, respectable adults.