Ten minutes to write. Less time to read.

It’s Sunday. Earl is a real estate agent, so you can imagine what we do for fun on Sunday afternoons. Whenever he isn’t holding an open house himself, we often go looking at model homes.

It’s not that we’re in the market, because we have a beautiful home which we plan to inhabit for some years to come. But the urge to see what’s out there courses strong in his veins. And seeing the newer trends in homes makes us realize how difficult it will be for us to downsize when the time comes.

Our current home has four bedrooms, three baths, two family rooms, and a dining room, – as well as the standard living room, kitchen, garage, etc. Our next one will be smaller, since the purpose for the move will be to give up maintaining an acre of land and free our time and pocketbooks for more traveling.

It’s something to think about, so that we don’t continue purchasing “stuff,” only to have to give it away. Currently among our possessions are five computers, four couches, three dining tables, two desks and desk chairs, and a plethora of lawn and garden furnishings. The only thing missing is the pear tree for the holiday partridge.

I’m sure we could discard some of these things and not feel any poorer. But the one thing I haven’t mentioned, which has become the third member in our household, will never be on the endangered species furniture list. No, it isn’t a pet dog or cat. It’s my grand piano and wherever I go, it goes.