It’s Friday, and you know what that means…we will get our official bid in this afternoon!!  I’m so nervous, which I realize is a little silly.  We already know what some things are going to cost, and we already know we definitely won’t be able to do everything on the list, but I’m anxious to see just how bad the numbers are going to hurt.  But I’m SUPER excited too!  After we get our bid in from the contractor, we will be one step closer to owning our Barbie dream house.  (Don’t tell Charles I called it that!)

As I get ready for the next step of the process, I can’t help but think back on all that I’ve learned so far.  Let’s recap…Charles and I first found out that the house was on the market around September of last year.  At that point, Charles had just started his final year of law school, I had just finished my first full year of work, we had only been married 2 months, and we had no idea where we wanted to go or what we wanted to do at the end of school.  We put the house in the back of our minds until we were home for Thanksgiving.  We decided “spur of the moment” that we wanted to check out the house.  So we called the realtor, who happens to be a family friend, and she took us over there.  I immediately loved it.  It was incredibly intimidating because of all of the work, but I could instantly see the amazing potential.  I could see Charles and I making a happy life there.  I could see us raising our kids there.  I could see us living there until we had to move our bedroom downstairs because we couldn’t climb the stairs anymore.  I could see our “forever home.” 

But again, we were stuck.  We still felt that it was too soon and we didn’t even know if we wanted to move back there.  We decided to mull it over for a while.  But then, completely unexpectedly, someone came along and put an offer in on the house in early December…the bank accepted immediately.  I remember when I got the call.  I was in Charlotte for work and Charles called me at about 8 am.  It definitely ruined my day.  I think it took “losing” the house for Charles and I to realize how much it meant to us and how much we wanted it.  Well the people who offered must not have been as crazy (er, adventurous?) as we are because they walked away after only 2 days.  In the end, this was the best thing that could have happened.  We realized how much we wanted the house, we had more time to think about it, and the failed offer forced the bank to lower the price!  Funny how those things seem to just work out, huh?

So we put an offer in on the house in late January and, after a week of countering, our offer was accepted.  Since then, we’ve learned more than could ever be put into words.  We have learned how the “purchase and restore” loan works.  We’ve learned how contractors work (and sometimes don’t work).  We’ve learned the realtor game.  We’ve learned about tax credits and historic preservation.  Most of all, we’ve learned patience.  For those of you who know me, you know this isn’t my strong suit.  But I’m becoming more and more patient.  This is a slowwwww process and I’m learning to roll with the punches.  It only took me 25 years and a falling-apart house to get here!  Now I’m the one telling Charles, my always-patient, always-calm rock, that we need to wait and see.  “We don’t need to rush the contractor decision….Let’s just wait till Friday…We don’t have to get this appliance now.”  I’m learning that being patient gives me time to process it all.  And this is A LOT to process!  I’m avoiding rash decisions and making the best decisions for our home and our life.  It’s quite liberating!  Why didn’t I come to this realization earlier?? ;)

Keep your fingers crossed that the bid we get this afternoon isn’t TOO painful!  I’m sure I’ll be letting you know…

Have a great weekend, and don’t forget to set your clocks forward tomorrow!  Time to SPRING FORWARD!  Spring…the perfect season for construction, right? :)