As we make plans to relocate to Wichita, my husband’s employer is sending us on a house-hunting trip. Momma Bear, Papa Bear and Baby Bear have different priorities for this excursion.
“Mom,” said the Cub, “we need lots of space.”
“What do you plan to do with lots of space?” I said.
“We need lots of space so we can have a soccer field,” he said. “Or a long-distance swimming pool.”
Papa Bear is also concerned about outdoor space. Give him room, lots of room. Don’t fence him in.
He grew up on a farm. You know what they say. You can take the boy off the farm, but you can’t take the farm out of the boy.
Problem is, Papa Bear already has a job and farming is not it. Nor is landscape gardening. Nor lawn mowing.
Hobby, yes. Phenomenal green thumb, that man. But full-time work? And don’t think for a minute Momma Bear is interested in taking the reigns of a Deere.
Search criteria for Papa Bear consists of lot size, proximity to the neighbors, and what backs up to the property. Heaven forbid we back up to another house.
“Here’s one,” he said as we perused real estate sites, “and we wouldn’t have to worry about anyone building behind us.”
“Why’s that?” I said.
“See this big field behind the property on the map?” he said. “It’s a cemetery.”
Momma Bear looked up to see if he was serious. He was. Dead serious. She huffed a low growl under her breath.
“What else have you found?” she said.
Papa Bear cracked a smile. “So living next to a cemetery is out of the question?”
“Completely.” Grrr.
Momma Bear’s main concerns are for the innards of the house. She would like an open floor plan so everyone can be together. She would like the heat to work in the winter and the air conditioner to work in the summer.
Enough room so every bear has his space, but not too much that she can’t clean up in a jiffy. A yard bigger than a postage stamp, but smaller than a park.
Our relocation agent has her work cut out looking for our just right.
One tidy, cozy, move-in-ready, little house on the prairie with a soccer field for a yard that doesn’t back up to another house or a cemetery.
Hibernating would be simpler. Any empty caves available in Sedgwick County?
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:13 NIV
