Broken Dreams

I went and looked at houses with a realtor on Wednesday. It was fun and exciting to think that Ian and I will soonish be in a place of our own again, complete with a front and back yard! I have to admit though, I always feel a little bit weird walking into every home with judgment in my eyes. I have to pick every place apart to make sure it is perfect for us. And I did see some good possibilities, but it will still be a bit before we buy.

Going into short sale homes and foreclosures just breaks my heart a little. These homes were/are peoples dreams. People's broken dreams. And unfortunately, Modesto currently is having a heyday with people's broken dreams. 1 in 5 homes here is vacant. We have the second highest foreclosure rate in the country. And it is sad to me. Sure, empty car lots, stores and homes looks tacky, but it also makes me sad. It makes me sad to think of the day that person opened their business or bought their home. They were filled with such hope and dreams. And now that ended. I noticed right after Christmas a business owned by a high school friend's family (and recently run by him) shut down. This saddened me. I know it had to be hard on them.

Dreams are a great thing to have. And I think it is important for us to follow our dreams (unless of course, they are just too freaky). But with the recent economy, so many dreams have been broken. And even though they aren't my broken dreams, it still saddens and pains me a little.

All this reminds me a bit of the feelings I felt about the empty, abandoned, broken church buildings scattered around Britain. It just saddens me a little.