Guest Blogger: John Moran 2

John Moran and his boys. That's not their house.











John Moran is a divorced father of three who lives in Arizona. Around Valentines Day I asked him to blog about what it's like to re-enter the dating world. If you'd like to read that funny previous piece, click here: John Moran on divorced dating

Today he's blogging about something entirely different...




"Why does everyone have a bigger house than mine?"

By John Moran


I recently made a trip back to my Midwest hometown to attend a funeral. I get back to my hometown at least once a year. The funeral provided an opportunity to reunite with old friends, which is great. There is, however, a downfall to these trips. They can be a self confidence killer.

You see, most of my friends live in BIG houses. I could fit my humble home into some of their garage spaces. I know that I'm not supposed to judge my life by material possessions but the BIG house factor is hard to ignore.

The following is a small list of comparable features of the BIG house versus my home:

BIG house
Guest bedroom- a full separate bedroom with a bath for guests.

My house
A pull out sofa in the living room.

BIG house
Five bathrooms. Five! These people have bladder problems.

My house
One bathroom to be shared with 3 boys, 2 of which have good aim.

BIG house
Wine Fridge that keeps wine at a constant temperature.

My house
Okay, I usually have a bottle in the fridge, just in case.

BIG house
Warming tray - I believe this is a device used to keep food warm while entertaining.

My house
Nothing like cool gooey cheese. Warmed nachos are overrated.

BIG house
Alarm System

My house
If someone wants my stuff , they can have it...except for the golf clubs, of course.


It usually takes me about a week or two to recover from these trips. I beat myself up thinking "where did I go wrong?" "Why don't I have a BIG house?" I'm sure I could keep a therapist busy with my constant second guessing/questioning of my career and life decisions.

Maybe I should have never quit working at Swensen's. I had a real knack for scooping ice cream. I was also comfortable as a bagboy (courtesy clerk) at Dominick's, although that was in the day of paper only. Plastic could have thrown me for a curve.

For now I take solace in the fact that I have three great, well-behaved, bright kids. That's really my only hope at this point. Maybe one of them will become successful...and buy ME a BIG house.

They can visit any time. It has a nice guest bedroom.