A friend moved last spring. They chose to be closer to her husband's work place, to reclaim those dozen hours he spent in a car each week. She noticed that it is already for sale again just a few months later, but the look has changed. The people who bought it only intended to flip it. After a paint job, a second bathroom, and a new deck, it is going for triple the price she and her husband paid ten years ago.
That is an impressive investment. Not that the money is going into her pocket.
There was a children's book I read about a hundred times to my children. A couple was dissatisfied with their home. They longed for one that was sunnier, with a white picket fence, and a garden. They decided to put it up for sale so that they could move to one more aligned with their dreams. As potential buyers came through they casually mentioned those qualities that were not to their liking.
"It is too dark. If the walls were brighter we might buy it."
The couple looked at each other. They found a can of paint and soon the walls were bright yellow.
Another family walked through. They too had complaints.
"If only there was a fence, then we would want it."
Again the owners got tools out and built a fine fence all around.
A third couple came to see it. She shook her head.
"I love flowers. If there was a garden, then I would want this house."
The couple who owned it bought bulbs and planted them by the path. In a few months tulips sprung up with colorful heads.
The woman looked at her husband. She smiled.
"This is just the kind of house I want to live in." He smiled too, and took down the for sale sign.
We started another marriage group this spring. It is one of the ways within reach to flip a sagging relationship into one that is lovely to live in. One with light, and color, and good boundaries.
