House hunting

My dad and his girlfriend recently put their house up for sale, and today I tagged along as they went house-hunting. My family has moved about fifteen times since I was born, so this was definitely not a new experience for me. That said, this time the entire process felt... strange.

When opening your house to potential buyers, your life is essentially on display. People open every cupboard, every door, trying to imagine their own belongings in place of yours. They judge your taste in decoration, discussing how they can "fix" the choices you have made. All of the things that make a house your home are viewed in new terms, such as "a good usage of space".

I find this so unsettling. I don't like looking around at the components of someone's life and imagining my own possible future there. To be honest, I can't even explain why. This feeling goes completely at odds with the other half of my brain, which loves the possibilities of looking around a home and envisioning what my life would be like if I were to move there.

I'm probably only overanalyzing the entire process because I already felt weird about it. This is the first time that I have looked at a house with my parents, knowing that I would not be living there with them. By the time they get settled in their new house, I will be living on my own, either in an apartment or a dorm room. What would have been my potential bedroom is now a potential guest room. This was one of the first situations that has really provoked the realization that I won't live with my parents forever. Weird.

Meh, I felt like rambling today. Sorry about that.