A few weeks ago while my kids and I were out driving, we took a look at some houses. The interesting thing about them was that at one point we came really close to building one of them.

We were looking at starting construction on a beautiful 3 story dwelling with an expansive bedroom suite on the main floor for my mother-in-law or any other guests we might have, a much bigger garage, our dream kitchen, a huge kids’ room upstairs, a studio for me and a huge hobby room for my husband. Cedar shingles, river rock, Pella windows and doors, surround sound wired, hardwood throughout, Berber carpet here and there till the kids got big, my dream closet… I could hear the harps playing before I bought one piece of furniture. There was the park that was going to be built nearby, the scenic college campus, the mountain views. I was planning on inviting family and friends over.

There were so many great options that we looked forward to having for our then-growing family. We put down earnest money and then something strange happened. Well, it was not strange at the time, considering the real estate situation, but prices had started going higher and higher and higher until the home prices seemed a bit exorbitant to me. New employment had slowed down in the technology sector, where my husband works, and knowing that, I just couldn’t justify the pricing. So before we could commit to financing, we pulled out.

I felt like a great big loser, and not the one that gets all the money either. I thought that I should have made this house happen like I made the last home happen. We were bursting at the seams. A couple of years later I found myself listening to the story of a woman who bought one of those houses with her husband, and found themselves under water – you know, paying more mortgage on a house than it is actually worth. I felt very badly for her situation, but I guess the fact that it did not work for us proved to be a blessing in disguise.