Today, We Bought A House

Moving is a moment that completely turns your life upside down. There is so much in the unknown. You look at a house once, maybe twice, make an offer and move in. It’s kind of crazy when you think about it. You don’t really know much about the neighbors, the new people you will meet, whether or not the A/C will go out the minute you move in. It’s a risk. Yet, millions of people buy houses all the time.

I said to my husband, “It kind of scares me how smoothly everything fell into place with this house. Like, why are we supposed to be there? What’s going to happen?” Always the optimist, he responded, “Probably good things” or something like that.

I believe there is a reason for everything. The good and the bad. And, for some reason, we are supposed to move to this house.

You see, I saw this house last year. Yep, the exact same one we are moving into. It was for sale by owner almost exactly a year ago. I showed JD the pictures online. We weren’t in a place to buy a house a year ago, so we let it slip through our fingers. I felt a little sad. I had even talked to the owner a little bit about it on the phone. But, things happen. We stayed put. We rented for another year.

Recently, we started looking again. I was more eager than my husband. Nothing was quite working. The houses I looked at, he could always find something that didn’t work. Price, size, location, etc. I felt like it was hopeless. I think even our realtor had given up on us a little bit. Yet, I would get on the computer and scan the same neighborhoods again just hoping that a miracle would pop up. We wanted a house with 3 bedrooms on the main level which is hard to find in the city limits. Our realtor told us it was practically impossible. One day, something told me to do a new search in an area I had been keeping an eye on. And, lo and behold. Guess what popped up? That house from a year ago. It was listed just a few hours before I got onto the computer. And, it was priced just right.

I called my agent and insisted we go look at it that night.

Things are going fast around here. The market is picking up. It’s crazy. If you don’t act fast, you miss out. So, we were the first people to see it. We made an offer immediately. And waited. We had to wait 24 hours for them to respond. And that meant 24 hours of many other people walking through it too (about 15 in one day). To make a long 24 hours short, there was one more offer the next day. Turns out, it was higher than ours by a few thousand dollars (we didn’t know that). But, they chose our offer (hallelujah for good credit scores).

We flew through the inspection and everything was just perfect. It almost seems too good to be true. Which of course, makes the worrier in me a little nervous.

But, alas, we closed today, and we are now officially home owners again.

Yet, there is a tug in my heart for the house we are leaving. Today, my landlord is showing it to  a new renter. I can’t imagine another person living here. This seems like my house even though it was never really mine. My heart aches for all the happy memories that we have in this house. Like, the birth of my last child. And, the birthdays we’ve celebrated. This house is the only home the boys have ever really known. Kyle was only about 18 months old when we moved in. He is now rapidly approaching 5.

I know the idiosyncrasies of this house like the back of my hand. It feels like home. The whir of the dishwasher is familiar. The squeak of the 100 year old  hardwoods is annoying, but endearing. The smudges on the walls belong to tiny people that have lived happy moments in every room. The tree in the backyard is a source of both shade and play. The stained glass window on the front door is one of my favorite features. It felt meant to be when we moved in 3 years ago and it perfectly matched my furniture. There is just too much to remember in every corner. This house is my home. How can I possibly leave?

But, the future is bright with possibility. We will make new friends. Meet new neighbors. Go to new schools. Create new memories. Hang our old favorite pictures on different walls, but the pictures will at least be familiar. In time, I will not wake up in the middle of the night at an unfamiliar noise that is actually just the unfamiliar house I don’t quite love just yet settling in for the night. I will know the people in my new neighborhood as good as I know my current neighbors. We will find new parks, and new memories around every corner.

The best part? The people, and things I love most are coming with me. And, that is what really makes a home anyway.  I don’t know why we are meant to be in this new house just yet. But, I look forward to finding that out. Each and every day.