Two months ago, I was discombobulated and unsettled due primarily to an increasing level of dissatisfaction with my job. Fortunately, I had a few options to consider-my decision boiling down to what I really WANTED to do–which isn’t always an easy question to answer.
At the same time, Dan and I were hemming and hawing about where to live–now that Guzzy was/is out of High School and there is nothing (really) keeping us in our cozy (aka small) house in our cozy suburb. Dan wasn’t really cut out for the ‘burbs–he prefers a more remote home setting.
Today: I am happily employed at my new ‘old’ place of work; having taken a position at a former employer–eschewing the ‘shiny’ possibilities of a brand new new gig for a known commodity, working with people I respect and doing interesting work.
Tomorrow: we buy our new house. During our hemming and hawing stage two-ish months ago, we attended some open houses… and we both fell in love with a log cabin home on a few acres about 10 minutes from our current home–it was really unusual for Dan and I to go gaga over the same house. Although we will officially own the home tomorrow, we won’t take occupancy for a few more weeks – by prearrangement with the sellers. We will have a week to move in before the scheduled closing date on our current house– which we listed ourselves, receiving a good offer within 8 days.
Sometimes… just sometimes…. things fall into place. I can’t say I would necessarily recommend starting a new job, buying a house and selling a house (without a realtor) all within a two month period: but for us, it seems as if things are falling into place after what felt like holding our breath for just a bit too long.
Of course, a move requires a long-hard look at one’s belongings. We’ve made numerous trips to Goodwill and are selling off larger items via Craigslist. These items fall into three general categories: Items we haven’t used much (treadmill); items we don’t want to move (piano); or items that won’t fit the new space (Guzzy’s queen size bed). We also put a boatload of crap on a ‘pod’ that is now in storage (aka a ‘podload’ of crap), to reduce clutter while we were showing the house. While the intent was to pod only those items we wouldn’t need until after the move; inevitably, there are some things that it is inconvenient to be without:
- My bowling ball: I bowled today for the first time in a few years, and (horrors) I had to use a community ball; which threatened to slip backwards off my hand several times due to an ill-fitting thumb hole.
- Our ping pong table: I have entered my first-ever ping-pong Tournament (at work). Despite the lack of practice, I’m still alive in the third round.
- Wrapping paper: All of our wrapping paper is on the pod, requiring some improvisation for a recent birthday party. Thank god for the Sunday paper.
So, if you’ll excuse me, I have some packing to do!