Square Footage...When My Childhood Home Blew Me Away

 It's amazing how you can become accustomed to your surroundings. Back in January, 1987 I returned home from serving a two-year church mission to Denmark. The night I returned I was tired, but glad to be home. I remember getting out of the car after and I walked into the kitchen of the home my father built (but never actually finished...) and where my family lived since 1970. 

The door opened, I walked inside, and I was amazed...blown away.

It was as if I was seeing that room for the first time in my life. I hope to never forget what I said:

"It's so big."

The room was huge. I had been living in tiny apartments, visiting families that lived in tiny homes for two years. I had walked into home I no longer recognized. My mom laughed. Then she said:

"That's exactly what Alan said when he got home."

Alan, my big brother, returned home three years earlier. He lived in Japan. He had the same reaction.

The other day I found a fascinating visual. Well, it was fascinating to me. It showed the average square footage of homes in both the U.S. and in Europe. I noticed the state with the most average square footage was Utah, where I'm from. The country with the most average square footage in Europe was Denmark, a place I used to live.

What does that have to do with my what I thought when I got home? I guess if I lived somewhere else in Europe, my reaction when I walked into my childhood home would have been even greater.