1985
The first thing that I wanted to have was a house I can call my own and my home. Even when I didn’t have a thousand pesos yet in the bank nor in my shallow pocket, I kept looking at million peso homes in the neighborhood. My husband of one year was embarrassed to accompany me inside the houses because he knew we both couldn’t afford them.
Ako naman, always in the zone. I really felt I could afford the houses. While I toured the homes, it never occurred to me that those houses were beyond my reach. Ewan ba, ganyan ako. I think that kind of mindset worked in my favor.
When you dream of something, you work towards achieving that dream. But if you don’t dare to dream, wala lang, you wait for the dream to come to you, what if it didn’t? Swerte if in a blink of an eye, eto na, you have a beautiful house in front of you. But it’s not like that to most ordinary people like us. Unless you have ultra rich parents, most of us will have to go through the longer process of starting to build our house with a dream, spending many nights imagining, then working, then making it happen.
We don’t know what will happen in the future. It’s true that we cannot predict the future. But a good percentage of our future is something we can create.
I dreamed to have my own house and in tandem with that dream was a request to God to help me achieve that dream. I was so focused on building our own.
2020
To this day, I spend hours looking at houses on Zillow, Trulia, Redfin. My daughter asked me “Don’t you get tired looking at houses?” No, I don’t. I enjoy looking. It’s free entertainment and relaxation.
The prices of houses (single family, condos, apartments, townhomes, multi-family dwelling) continue to soar. This becomes prohibitive. Millions around the world will not have their dream houses. But do not feel sad. As long as you feel comfortable in the place you are staying now, as long as there’s peace, love, and harmony inside your house, then that is a home.
A home is a quiet witness to your journey. It also feels your happiness and reflects when you are in pain. Notice how gloomy your house becomes when you are sad, or not feeling well.
A house is not just a building or structure. This is where you create lasting memories with your family and this is the place where you imagine new dreams. Having a permanent address also provides your children with stability. Even when they grow old and are raising their own children, your house will become their anchor, because you are there. Their childhood memories are there written on the walls. And when you are gone, your house will continue to remind your children of you, your story.
