My thought before we left was that we would spend a day or two looking at houses and have a lot of time for sightseeing, hanging out, and basically just vacationing. Our first day there was a Saturday and we spent most of that day with the realtor. We looked at several houses in two different areas of the city. I am pretty sure we looked just like this:
Adjustment to city life is going to be no small thing. We spent five days and 700 miles of car time trying to figure out how to recreate the things we love about our life now in the big city. We kept telling our realtor about all the things we love about our house "at home" so she could understand what we were trying to find. Bless her heart, she got out there in the country with us in her high heels day after day and very patiently helped us in every way she could.
On our last day in the city, that sweet realtor gave me a bit of an overview of how she thinks about the process of buying and selling homes. She said that some homes sit on the market for reasons that no one can understand and her theory about it is that a home doesn't sell either because it is waiting for just the right family or because the family that is selling the home isn't quite ready to let it go. She said that often once the family is really and truly ready, the home will sell, the price will be right, and everything will move forward. I knew there was something there that was important for me to think about. As my husband and I talked that day, I began to hear how we were hanging on to our home and our small town life.
My husband and I spent the car ride home processing what we learned during our trip. We don't have it all figured out yet. But we did acknowledge to one another that as we listened to ourselves and each other, we could hear where we are stuck. There is so much that we love about our lives now that we would like to bring all that we love with us when we move. We are seeing that it isn't possible, but now we are also seeing that it wouldn't be the best use of this opportunity. This new place will have new things to offer, so now the question we are asking is "How can we best take advantage of the opportunities this city has to offer?" We don't have the answer yet, but I think we are at least asking the right question now.
***If you would like to know what the kids and I are reading and learning lately, we are enjoying Alison's suggestions for reading about birds. Alison has a real gift for building main lesson blocks!
That realtor sounds like she was something special. There is so much energy invested in a house - I think that is what turns a structure into a home. It is a lot of divesting and then re-investing. Tough stuff on your own - really tough when it is times six!
ReplyDeleteKnow that I wish you clarity as you navigate this transition.
Love to you always,
Sheila