After Miss Maudie's home burns down in chapter 8, Jem and Scout visit her the next day and offer her their condolences. Miss Maudie demonstrates her ability to see the positive side of bad situations by saying that she always wanted a smaller home anyway and is glad to finally have a larger yard. Miss Maudie then reveals that she hated her old home by telling Jem,

"Why, I hated that old cow barn. Thought of settin‘ fire to it a hundred times myself, except they’d lock me up" (Lee, 75).

One of the main reasons Miss Maudie claims to have hated her old home is because she has an affinity for being outside and gardening. Miss Maudie cannot stand being cooped up in her home and would prefer to spend the majority of her waking hours outside. Her affinity for being outdoors and desire to have a smaller home, which would give her a bigger yard, help ease the pain of losing her house in a fire. The children are also impressed by Miss Maudie's positive attitude and ability to look at the brighter side of things following her house fire.