We built our first home beside the river, when we were both just 20 years old. It was a kitset and we literally put it together ourselves. Of course we had to pay for the plumbing and electrical work, but the rest was all us. Our four children were born there and it was heartbreaking to leave, but the kids were growing fast and we needed more space, and the local "experts" told us that it would be a waste of money to add on to our home due to its location (Wrong, but we believed them). Took us many very expensive months of renting, until we found a larger home nearby, also beside the river. It was in poor condition and needed extensive renovating. Still, being young and foolish, we dived right in. And here's where my comment to my younger self comes in: our kids were 14, 12, 7 and 4 when we moved in, and we have spent the past 25 years renovating. In that time, the kids grew up and I have very little memory of that - was too busy - in addition to raising the kids, renovating, building a garden from scratch, I was also studying for my degree. Every thing we have done to the house (apart from when we needed tradies as before) we have done with our own blood, sweat and tears - partly due to budget, but also because we tend to think outside the box. We have a lovely home now - not huge, not flashy, but lovely, and worth 4 times what we have spent. But I would go back to the day we moved in and do less.. I would spend the time and the money on experiences with my children. I would have happy memories of their laughing faces at Disneyland, their excited faces on a plane, their awestruck faces at the Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls, their wonder at the wildlife in Yellowstone, their joy the first time they mastered skis or a snowboard... When you have children, you don't realize at the beginning just how fast they grow up. Spend that time with them while you can.....
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