Plans Gone Amuck

Or "Is What Is". That's what our family says about anything that happens we have no control over. (Thinking about that statement, it probably covers much of life!)

So our 'Sale Pending' is no longer pending. It's off, and the house is back on the market as active status, as of today.

It was a blast, waiting two weeks, until the buyers decided they'd changed their minds. It's given us time to take care of a couple of things around the house, and hopefully that will make it even more appealing to the right family. We've decided to replace all the windows and two kitchen appliances. I don't mind the money so much as I mind accepting that at my age, I'm still learning life lessons. We couldn't afford to replace them until a few years ago, but we should have done it then, and enjoyed using them. That's a lesson that will stick with us! That old adage, "Use it up, wear it out, make it do" has its limits, and we should have realized we'd made it do far long enough a number of years ago. When our realtor told us the couple had cut their offer because they knew they'd have to replace windows, we decided to go ahead and do it, and we should get a chunk of it back in another offer. Most couples are cash poor when they move into a home, so we're hoping this will be an enticement. And I'm planning to fully enjoy having spotless windows for however long I live here.

On another level, I know it's not practical, not reasonable at all, but the buyers were a young couple with no children, and no intention of having any for awhile. They made it clear they didn't intend to stay here long, maybe a few years at best. We were told they chose this house because it had a yard, some privacy, trees, and 'character'. This house has five bedrooms and loads of rooms to fill with fun and laughter and birthday parties and puppies and hamsters. The fridge needs to be covered with work brought home from school. The kitchen counters need to have some playdoh rolled out on them, and lots and lots of cookies baked. That's what we were hoping for - that's what we hoped our buyers would bring to the neighborhood.

I'm okay leaving this house and taking our memories with us, but it would feel better to know some big family ones are going to be made after we're gone. That's even what our neighbors told us they were hoping for.

So 'is what is'. We're trusting God that He knows exactly who should move into this house, make it a home, and that he'll work out all the details, whenever that is. Really, my biggest disappointment is that I'm back to wiping dog paws, daily doggy detail in the yard, and never having the luxury of leaving a bed unmade.

Bad marriages, cancer - those are problems. We don't have problems, we just have a home back on the market, waiting for the right family to buy it, move in and begin making memories.