Thing Number Twenty-Six | Covet

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary lists two definitions for “covet”:

1. to wish for earnestly
2. to desire (what belongs to another) inordinately or culpably

I covet (definition 1) a beach house. I don’t covet (definition 2) Jen and Dean’s beach house, even though I love it and it’s in the perfect beach town (Oceanside, CA).

I would love to have a beach house. I really would. I wish for a beach house earnestly. I am praying for a beach house. (Silly? I don’t care.) We are looking at our finances to see if there is any way to get a beach house. But for right now, it’s not possible so I’m still wishing earnestly.

We are basically homebodies. We do best with a home base. But we also like to get away for short trips during our vacation time (and people who work in the public schools get lots of vacation time) so a vacation property makes sense for us. Jon prefers mountains and I prefer beach as a getaway destination. Mountains, however (as I have pointed out), come with snow. Snow means driving with chains, protecting pipes from freezing, and generally weather-proofing a house. Beaches, on the other hand, are laid-back. The weather is temperate. This is So Cal so there are no hurricanes. I lobbied hard for beach vs mountain and I think I’ve finally turned him to my side.

I am not picky in regard to this imaginary beach house. It does not need to be on the beach. It just needs to be close to a beach. It does not need to be beach-themed, in fact, I would rather that it weren’t. It doesn’t even need to be a house; a condo would be fine. It does not need to be in a fancy city like Newport or Huntington Beach. We are not OC people, so it would be better if we weren’t in an OC town. Which is why Oceanside is perfect. It’s just south of Camp Pendleton so it’s got a working class (i.e. military) vibe as opposed to a leisure class (i.e. ladies who brunch) vibe.

My imaginary beach house isn’t possible right now. It’s not possible yet. But it might be in the future. We are talking about staying put in our “starter” house and saving towards a vacation property. We are looking at where we put our priorities and our money. We are starting to actively pursue this dream. Sure, it will take a while and, yeah, it may never actually happen. But it feels good to work toward this. I can just picture us, hand in hand, walking on the beach….