Wednesday, April 13, 2005

Life for Sale!

Well, after much talk, work, speculation, anxiety, etc., I have finally placed my house on the market... Where am I moving to? I moved in with Jim in early February. At the end of February I had concept debut, then Jim had hernia surgery. In March I had pneumonia. The latter half of the month was spent with a couple adventures and a LOT of prepping for the big sale. My parents came down a couple times to help out, but even a week ago it still seemed like we'd never be done. In fact, I wasn't convinced it was going to happen until midday on Monday. It went on the market Monday night... The link above is for the RMLS site, but my realtor, Leia, put together a great site, and I've posted the photos to my site.

It turned out to be a lot more nerve wracking and emotional than I ever could have predicted... As we closed the house up Monday night, Jim went ahead to start the car. I stopped on the front walk, turned around and whispered, "good bye, house." Before I even got to the word 'house', my voice cracked and my eyes welled up. And then I just started bawling... I cried for hours and at times felt inconsolable. And then I felt crazy, because I was mourning a house like a family member. But then, all things considered, that house has been a family member of sorts. It's a huge, expensive pain in the ass at times, and shelter and comfort other times. It's always there, waiting for me. I am very protective of it. And likewise, proud. But it's time for new and better things.

In the end, I find myself pondering all the things the house symbolized to me. I bought it when I was 27 years old, in fact, decided to make the offer on my 27th birthday. I lived in this house longer than I have lived in any other residence in my entire life. I have filed lawsuits to protect my house and prevailed. And more than anything, this house was my home. My first home. All the others had a feeling of temporary shelter, but this was mine. That was why I bought a house in the first place--I wanted a home. I also wanted a dog... [I adopted Ellis just 6 days after moving in.]

Anyway, it is the end of an era, and more importantly, the beginning of a whole new adventure. There will be more news of equal magnitude soon... stay tuned!