Don't Pave Paradise to Put Up a Parking Lot

Just below the surface of plush carpets, delicate china, and tidy rooms lies the basement, “the other world,” - a place belonging to children with its cement floors for roller skating, gray metal poles for shinnying, and exposed-joist ceilings where you can hang swings. A parallel universe where upstairs rules don’t apply. Parents open the door only to announce mealtimes or to toss down a toy that spun beyond the borders.

Why are we in such a hurry to fix up the basement so we can park ourselves in front of the big-screen TV? An unfinished basement is a beautiful thing - where no one minds if you spill paint or nail sheets and cardboard from the ceiling to make a fun-house maze; where Tarzan can swing from a rope and jump on old mattresses; where plastic swimming pools are filled with sand or beans. Consider what you could be losing before you pave paradise to put up a parking lot.