Selling our house....The biggest obstacle to our move. This is not the best market and, certainly, not the best time of year to be trying to sell our house. Each weekend we do, what I like to refer to as, the "hopeful clean-up". Every Friday night I clean the entire house from top to bottom. I mop the floors, clean the bathrooms, vacuum, I even sweep the front porch and do an inspection of the landscaping to catch in errant pieces of paper or miscellaneous stuff the wind my have blown into my shrubbery. All this in the "hope" that we will have prospective buyers come and take a look at our house.
Of course, they will be impressed by how impeccably maintained my lawn and bushes are and will make an offer on the spot. So far, this hasn't happened but each Friday I continue to hope for the best and expect the worst. I love the house that I live in. It is a gorgeous home with move than enough room for all of us and a couple of guests if any drop in for a visit. It is pretty close to being my dream home but I have already bid it farewell in my mind. I have stopped imagining how my kitchen would look if it were painted a different color or what kind of window treatments would be great in the master bath. Now my dreams and imaginings are focused on a new, though yet unseen, house in North Carolina. I think about our new home and how I will arrange the furniture and where I will hang my pictures. I want to be excited but my excitement is on an indefinate hold.
Now all we can do is wait and hope and keep on cleaning. As our realtor says, "It only takes one buyer." I wish they would just get here. My house can't get much cleaner.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Monday, November 12, 2007
Plotting The Course
On the move? To what? To where? That is the million dollar question. My family currently lives in O'Fallon, MO but that hardly sums us up. The question of "where are you from" is getting more complicated all the time. This will be our 4th "big" move with a few more minor ones (across town or across the county) in between.
Right now when people ask, "Where are you from?", I generally respond with "We are originally from New York but we moved here from Washington, DC." Now that we are headed toward Winston-Salem, NC the answer will be even more complex. Maybe I should carry around a map and could just plot our family's course for any interested parties. It isn't the "where" that makes me nervous, it's the "what".
We can make any geographical place feel like home. We have done it before and we are starting to get good at it. I'm a lucky wife. My husband works hard and gives our family all that we need including a nice home in a nice neighborhood. It is the "what" part of the question that unnerves me a bit. What will it be like there? What do people there do for fun? What will the schools be like? What if they don't have a soccer league for my goal-keeping daughter? What will I do with my time after I've quit my job, left my Mothers of Preschoolers group and dropped out of my book club? And the even bigger question, "What are we moving toward?" I'm not sure I know.
You see, we have it really nice here. I never thought I would find myself in the midwest. I'm an east coast kind of girl. But this is a place I could call home. It's everything a mom wants: friendly, safe and a place where my children can thrive. But alas, we are saying goodbye to paradise. What will this new adventure hold for us? Will we be even happier than we are now? That doesn't seem possible but I guess we are about to find out. Keep your fingers crossed for us and keep your eye out for that moving truck. We might be moving right next door to you.
Right now when people ask, "Where are you from?", I generally respond with "We are originally from New York but we moved here from Washington, DC." Now that we are headed toward Winston-Salem, NC the answer will be even more complex. Maybe I should carry around a map and could just plot our family's course for any interested parties. It isn't the "where" that makes me nervous, it's the "what".
We can make any geographical place feel like home. We have done it before and we are starting to get good at it. I'm a lucky wife. My husband works hard and gives our family all that we need including a nice home in a nice neighborhood. It is the "what" part of the question that unnerves me a bit. What will it be like there? What do people there do for fun? What will the schools be like? What if they don't have a soccer league for my goal-keeping daughter? What will I do with my time after I've quit my job, left my Mothers of Preschoolers group and dropped out of my book club? And the even bigger question, "What are we moving toward?" I'm not sure I know.
You see, we have it really nice here. I never thought I would find myself in the midwest. I'm an east coast kind of girl. But this is a place I could call home. It's everything a mom wants: friendly, safe and a place where my children can thrive. But alas, we are saying goodbye to paradise. What will this new adventure hold for us? Will we be even happier than we are now? That doesn't seem possible but I guess we are about to find out. Keep your fingers crossed for us and keep your eye out for that moving truck. We might be moving right next door to you.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
It's A Rabbit
Today is Abby's 13th Birthday. She is surrounded by her best friends for a fun-filled afternoon of bowling, laser tag & those ridiculous video games that reward the player with a plastic ring or bouncy ball after hours of diligent gaming and an unending stream of quarters provided by indulgent parents.
She is taking the prospect of the new move in stride and has learned from previous moving adventures that this is a time when we parents are ripe for the pickin'. She has informed us that she will come along quietly if we are willing to provide just one thing: A RABBIT !!!!
Unbeknownst to her, Tim and I feel as though we have gotten off cheap. A rabbit is a small price to pay for the cooperation of a teenager.
During one particular dinner conversation where Tim & I were discussing the impending logistics of our upcoming adventure, she interrupted us by saying simply, "By the way, I have a name picked out for my rabbit. I'm calling her Freckles!".
With that, the deal was sealed and we will celebrate this new addition to our family with as much glee as we can possibly muster.
She is taking the prospect of the new move in stride and has learned from previous moving adventures that this is a time when we parents are ripe for the pickin'. She has informed us that she will come along quietly if we are willing to provide just one thing: A RABBIT !!!!
Unbeknownst to her, Tim and I feel as though we have gotten off cheap. A rabbit is a small price to pay for the cooperation of a teenager.
During one particular dinner conversation where Tim & I were discussing the impending logistics of our upcoming adventure, she interrupted us by saying simply, "By the way, I have a name picked out for my rabbit. I'm calling her Freckles!".
With that, the deal was sealed and we will celebrate this new addition to our family with as much glee as we can possibly muster.
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