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Thursday, February 14, 2008 12:00 AM

Help! I'm a prisoner in a big suburban house!

Please, somebody, get me out of this fancy enclave of McMansions and SUVs!

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  • Wednesday, February 13, 2008 07:33 PM

    Your problem is magnified

    by the fact that your wife doesn't mind the situation as much as you do. While I agree with you that $50,000 is a small price to pay for your mental health, I wonder if you could find a "third way" between selling at a loss and lobotomizing yourself into loving the suburbs? You must have some sort of back yard, for example. Spring is coming. Can you plant a bunch of nice and fast-growing plants back there, turn it into your own little jungle? Can you find a nearby nature area you can drive to, and walk around every morning a bit? Can you remodel a room of your big ol' house to be a sort of Serenity Room, maybe with a pretty and colorful paint job (no beige!), some warm lighting, and one of those trickly water-garden fountain things?

    February is a miserable month for everyone. Don't make a decision in February. Spring is coming, baby! See if you can make life worth living where you are. You've undergone a lot of big changes lately -- graduation, new job, marriage. It would be unusual if you WEREN'T a little freaked. Try to carve out some space to just "be you."

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