We’ve been looking at houses for awhile now.

And there have been lots of them. Lots in person, many, many more online (Trulia and I are besties) and they have, for the most part, been really good homes. But when it comes to home shopping I am a bit of a mystic.

I have this sense that I’ll find “the one” and I’ll know it, and my realtor will know it, and we will all knowingly nod to one another and skip off to her office to finalize the offer.

And in this fantasy, my new home will be filled with happy memories and no repair bills and everything will be Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving and perfect decorating happily ever after. I’ll throw perfect parties that will always be well received, my neighbors will all adore us and we them, and others will envy our perfect home and our perfect neighborhood.

But here’s the thing:

there is no such thing as the perfect house

Houses have quirks. And creaks. And the walls aren’t straight and there’s sometimes a weird neighbor. There are garages that have kind of a strange smell and by the way, anybody know why there’s 3 different kinds of flooring on the first floor, and huh, that was an interesting choice for wall color. And why is there carpet in the bathroom? (seriously, this one I just don’t get).

And my family will make some great memories in our new home but there will also be some nasty, ugly fights that we won’t be proud of later. There will be some testy moments and awkward conversations, and yes, even some things will break and  need to be repaired. And not just walls and furniture and vases and mirror and glasses (I have 3 boys and 3 dogs, we break a lot of stuff) but also some harder things to repair like relationships.

And the age of the house doesn’t matter as much as you’d like to think. I have friends in brand new homes that have had far more problems then those in 40 year old homes. Not that 40 year old homes don’t have their issues, too.

Because, Friends, choosing real estate is much like choosing any other long term relationship.

You have to get, from the beginning, that houses, and people and LIVES are filled with imperfection.

So ring the bells that still can ring.

Forget your perfect offering.

There is a crack in everything.

That’s how the light gets in.

Leonard Cohen

There’s  deep brilliance there. And so much freedom. Let go of the perfection and the need for your home to look like an ad, or a TV show, or a Pinterest page and embrace the cracks. In your home, in your family, in your self.

And let the light in.

Happy running.

Jen