Yes. I admit it. It has been a very long time since I've done a long-form "post". Facebook, which I openly derided and resisted, has proven to be helpful at keeping up with friends and family. Yet, as I sit here in our apartment (story to follow) and type, I can't help but feel the need to write, not post. I doubt that my kids and their kids and so on, will be combing back through my posts to see where I "checked in" or be interested in the photo I took of that thing I ate. But maybe, just maybe, they'd be interested in some of my stories- our stories. Hence, I write, rather type, to keep it old school.
Speaking of school, it was just out of college when we last lived in an apartment. Flash forward 12 years and we are back for an apartment stint. Not that we got nostalgic for cramped parking lots, notes on cars from people we don't know telling us we parked in "their" spot, or throwing trash out on the curb 'cause "that's what you do on trash day." No, we are in an apartment for altogether legitimate and logical reasons. We sold our home.
We decided to put our house on the market in March and two and half weeks later that puppy was gone. We were excited to move on, just didn't think it would be so quickly. Telling ourselves we wouldn't rush into our next house (we bought our first home on a weekend and a whim, but never regretted it) we started looking as soon as the house was up for sale. Once we realized we were going to be homeless in 30 days, we ramped up the search and felt we had found our dream house- a yet-to-be-built home on a cul-de-sac, aka a happy circle.
Building a home meant we had to find an in-between home and so we found #1616- a 3 bedroom special. The State Trooper who lives across the hall has added a sense of security and a calm in the 'plex that I didn't think we'd get. However, we can't hold conversations if the washing machine, dryer and dish washer are all running at the same time- it seriously is breaking a sound ordinance of some kind.
As we moved in with the generous help of friends from church, we looked forward to selecting all the design elements for our new home. However, shortly after going through that process, we grew frustrated. Not knowing what we shoud do, we continued to discuss options. And then, I happened to pick up Kalee from soccer in a neighborhood we've always loved. A neighborhood we've always wanted to live in, but never saw a home that seemed right for us.
Well, on this particular day, I rolled up and parked across the street from the field in front of one of the homes in this neighborhood. As I got out, I happened to notice a for sale sign. Of course, we had stopped looking about 30 days prior and this house, come to find out, went on the market 24 days previously. I thought, "Well, I'll just look to see what the deal is with this house just for kicks and giggles." After looking at the photos online, I quickly shot a text to Aprille to tell her to look and humor me.
Well, that was a Thursday. Two days later, we saw the home. We went back the next day. And the day after that our offer was accepted. Craziness, right? Well, we thought so too, but it just feels right. Or righter that the last house. Did I mention we also had an option on another home before that as well? Yes- we got a little crazy. But the third time is definitely the charm. So, we move in just a few weeks- a few weeks after moving into apartment-ville.
The best part in all this is we get a home we love in a neighborhood we love with friends we love. To a new chapter!
