McMansions and the American Dream

People's houses are too big, their cars are too big, and I think their families are too small. A three car garage and the cars too fill it will not make someone happy. Instead of buying a house with a three car garage try adopting a mutt from the pound. One pretty disappointing mutt will bring you a lot more happiness then three very nice cars (My barks over Beamers theory). Also 2.5 kids is not enough. People limit their kids too make sure they are taken care of, but I know I wouldn't have traded any of my brothers or my sister for a Playstation or a bedroom of my own. People's cars are too big. Cramming into the family car for a family vacation may seem unpleasant, but everyone tells the horror stories of those trips with the biggest smiles and the heartiest laughs. People should eat dinner together more. It is not impossible with the modern kids schedule, and the fact is the family is more important than soccer, cheerleading, SAT prep, and piano lessons. You may or may not make it rich, but living your dream should not hinge on that. Americans are blessed to live in a world where you can raise a family safely and securely. Happiness is so accessible to so many in this country. All it takes is recognizing the heroism in the mundane. All it takes is realizing how great it is to be a mother, a father, a sister, or a brother. How great it is to have kids bickering over toys, and spouses bickering over whose house they're going to for thanksgiving. If that is the worst of it, than you are living a dream, and what else can one ask for but that.