I feel bad complaining, since I know there are so many other families with more troubles than I have. But I need to let a little bit out... so here goes.
In February 2011, my husband was laid off from his job as a research scientist. Since his job paid the mortgage (among other things), and we have no family even remotely close by, we were pretty stressed. I took a part-time job in retail while he searched high and low for work. (The word "overqualified" has become a swear word in our home.)
To make things extra fun, one week in November, my furnace broke, the radiator in our car died, and my dryer quit. (Hmmmm, almost sounds like a country song...) Thank goodness I have an awesome neighbor who let me use her dryer for several months until we saved enough to repair ours. I'm sure my other neighbors were wondering why I was dragging all of our wet clothes next door! Luckily, in December, Chris did find a job... out of state. So, since then, he has been working in central Illinois, while I stayed in Wisconsin with our boys.
Hats off to all you single Moms out there; I am not cut out to be a single parent! I had to quit my part-time job, which I was really enjoying, since I had no one to watch my 4-year-old in the afternoon. And there were some days I wish I could erase from the books. Getting the kids ready for school and to their buses on time... PTO meetings... teacher conferences... field trips... playdates... Cub Scouts... my stamping business... cooking... cleaning... it's just too much for this one person. Especially while trying not to cry when your boys are crying because they miss their Dad so much.
For the past two months, I have been getting my house ready to sell. I rented a storage place, and started packing up non-essential items. And boy, oh boy, do my children have a different opinion on "non-essential" than I do! My husband has been driving home on Friday evenings, through Chicago-land traffic, to help me work on home improvement projects. He then got up at 3:30 on Monday mornings to drive to work. I'll be honest with you - it's been hell.
Luckily, I had Stampin' Up!'s annual Convention to look forward to. So, after working like crazy the weekend before Convention, I listed my house.
Stamping has always been my "therapy," and having so many of my pretties packed up is driving me insane. I miss stamping with my friends and teaching classes. I'm nervous about starting my business all over. And I just plain hate moving.
As I said, I was lucky enough to be able to attend Convention this year :} And I promise I will share that experience with you as soon as I can. I already started working on my digital scrapbook- yay!!
So for those of you who have stuck around and managed to make it to the end of this novel, I thank you. I will be sharing more projects sporadically as I get a few minutes here and there throughout the next month or so. Wish me luck, include my family in your prayers, and think happy thoughts! :}
I am currently living in my fifth (that's right - 5)home. Fortunately, I sold my last home before HGTV. Buyers seem to want at least $50,000 more in details and amenities than their budget can afford. I don't know whether RE agents are not educating their clients or the buyers are not listening. If you have gotten rid of the clutter and neutralized as much as possible, you have done all you can. You just have to wait for the right buyer and who knows you may get two. When I bought the house I currently live in, we traded offers with the seller and couldn't come to an agreement on price. After 4-6 more weeks of looking, we made a new offer at the seller's last price point. We had a contingency for a home inspection. Less than a week later, someone put in a backup offer for 5% more than we paid. Luckily, the home inspection went well and we closed shortly there after. You can only control what you do. Let go of your emotional attachment to the house. It is just four walls and a roof. You will still have all the memories of the joyful times that your family lived there. You will make wonderful new memories after you move. Hold on to that and try to stay sane. Carol B
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your comment, Carol. You are absolutely right! :)
ReplyDelete