I saw this sign over the weekend and it caught my eye, so I took a picture.  Losing your personal residence can be a very traumatic event. Especially to the adult who has labored and chored to provide not just a house, but a home for their family. Yet here, in this picture, a child (assumedly) has drawn a ‘heart’ and a ‘star’ to decorate the sign. And the more I thought about the event (foreclosure) and how a child perceives it, the more hope filled my vision as I looked upon the sign.

So I ask a simple question to anyone who wants to answer.

“What does foreclosure look like to a kid?”

“Jared” he started “I was speaking with my wife-“ stroking his thick beard recalling as he went. “-and you know how you told me your annual wage? Is that just your wage?”

I nodded.

“Well, why don’t you go and negotiate yourself into a home? I know you’re smart. But you can’t put your life on hold just to get the lowest home price.” Our conversation moved itself forward from there. But it got me thinking.

Am I putting my life on hold?

And being that I like to think and self reflect, I spent the next two days doing so. And here is what I came up with.

My friends purchased a home in 2006 for $400k. Homes currently sell fro $190-$220k in the area. And the prices are still falling. This couple would love to start having children but they literally cannot afford them. They need both incomes and the hit they would take from paying for childcare would tip their sinking ship. Not to mention his hours were recently cut.

That’s putting your life on hold.

A single guy I know, purchased a home for $300k. After he purchased the home, his pay was significantly cut. He is extremely worried about layoffs. So being proactive, he found a better job near Seattle but doesn’t know if he should take it. Being unable to sell his home.

That’s putting your life on hold.

Another family was struggling to make ends meet. They had heard that I had written a program to collect the County’s data from the county website. They had me over for dinner and I showed them the data I had collected and the trends that the data was showing. The next day they dropped the selling price on their rental by $50k, and miraculously were able to sell the home. A month later Lehman brothers collapsed. After that, the man lost his job. He ended up finding one but they had to move for it and the unfortunate thing is that they were unable to sell their private residence. He currently is trying to rent it but cannot find anyone to cover the mortgage. So the family goes with state funded health care for their children, and no health care for themselves, while dropping $1000 bucks a month on a home they don’t use.

That’s putting your life on hold.

A couple moved here in 2005. They wanted to buy a home, but asked why my wife and I were waiting. I went on to show them the data I had collected and encouraged them to wait things out. She recently lost her job with the school district up North. And his job was on the ropes. Being a teacher but unable to find work, guess what they did. They moved to freaking China.

That’s putting your life on hold.

One of my wife’s childhood friends noticed that prices in their area had declined by 50%. So in April of this year, what do her and her husband do? They bought into a home. The day after they sign, her husband loses his job. This month they have missed their first payment and are worried that they will have to move back into her parent’s house.

That’s putting your life on hold.

My wife and I look around us and feel incredibly blessed.  In October we will hopefully have a beautiful baby girl come bouncing into our world. Things have actually have been very busy in preparation for the baby. There are baby showers, shopping, parenting classes, and more showers. Putting together the crib and picking out baby names. The anticipation grows from these events, making me long to meet my little girl.

And this is when I realize that our life is moving too fast for anything or anyone to slow it down. And should I never own a home so that we can afford my daughter the best possible upbringing; or that my family won’t be debt burdened and have to put their lives or their dreams on hold; well then, I am totally cool with that.