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MU5 - We moved in with my parents on a Saturday. I gave birth to my son on Monday. (Yes, *that* Monday. As in 2 days after the Saturday we moved in.)
There were boxes everywhere.
The kitchen was mid-remodel.
Nothing was unpacked.
The older three kids were plopped into bedrooms that weren’t set up.
My youngest brother had just graduated college and was temporarily living in an upstairs bedroom.
My parents were living in the guest room downstairs because the ADU build was way behind schedule.
We weren’t 100% moved out of our old house.
Are you getting stressed?!
I was stressed.
Of course having my babiest baby was nothing close to a mistake. I was thrilled!
But…the timing?
Zero stars. Do not recommend.
Control is a fool’s errand, though.
We thought we had a great plan in place, but then there was the unpredictability of listing and selling our previous house, plus hiccups in the remodel, plus slow permitting and all the things for the ADU build.
As move-in date got pushed closer and closer to my due date, I told my parents, “We either need to come before the baby’s born, or wait til a year after.” Post-partum has never been easy-breezy for me (oh, hello, PPD), so I knew I had to be in-place before his birth.
Looking back, it feels like a totally fitting way to have started our multi-gen living journey. From the start it was an exercise in preparing as well as possible, trusting our relationships and aligned motivations, seeing what happens, and adjusting as we go.
If you’re one of the maaaany families exploring the idea of multi-gen living right now and trying to decide if it’s right for your family, here’s my best advice:
before ANYTHING else, you need to have some important conversations to get aligned about why you’re interested in multi-gen living and what your hopes and expectations are.
Comment TALK and I’ll send you a link to grab Before You Say Yes: the 9 essential questions every family needs to discuss before saying yes to multi-gen living. You’ll land on a clear & confident answer to the big question you’ve been asking: “Should we really live together?!”
🏡
#homeiswheretheheartis #adu #multigenerationalliving #realestatetrends
@multi.gen.living
