Opportunity Knocks

Three weeks ago, on a Tuesday, I brought in the mail and noticed a letter from a Realtor tucked into the Ballard Designs catalog. Usually I throw mass mailings away, but this one beckoned me to open it.

Interesting. The Realtor had sent a letter to everyone in our sub-division, asking if anyone was interested in selling their home. He was representing a family with kids who go to the school at the end of  our block. My husband and I had talked about moving on and off over the past few years and decided we had nothing to lose by floating a trial balloon. As it turned out, eight families, including us, said,  “yes, we’re interested.” (Four houses in the division are on the market already and have been for some time).

That Sunday, they looked at all the homes and on Monday, the Realtor said they liked ours, made us an offer and gave us 48 hours to decide. After I pulled my head out of the toilet (be careful what you wish for)  we  decided to counter offer. Thursday night they accepted. Someone in the RE division of  my husband’s office was able to quickly review our end of the deal and by sundown on Friday,  we signed a contract.  The inspection was last week and the work is minimal.  Knock wood, if all goes well, we’ll close sometime in May.

It seems like it is meant to be. We didn’t put our house on the market, engage a Realtor or have to keep the house clean for more than one showing. It came to us. Remembering this has helped as I clench up with fear and wonder, “what have we done?” Things were in order. Did I really need to turn it all upside down?

But the answer is yes. I have never really been comfortable in this house. True, it is beautiful and I appreciate the space that has held the sounds of friends and family over the years.  However, I long for a smaller yard and fewer toilets to clean (OK, I know. I don’t really clean the toilets.)  There are only 3 of us and in a strange sort of way, we have outgrown this house. Like many homes, we have rooms that sit empty. I love Sarah Susanka and the Not So Big House series. Sarah talks of how we make formal living rooms and use them when we have guests. If we really like the people, we invite them  into the kitchen/family room. If we don’t, they stay in the formal room. So in essence, we spend money and space on a room for people we don’t even like! For years I have wanted to have  smaller, creative,  user-friendly space to LIVE in and host folks I love.

So, here we are,  taking a leap of faith and trusting that it might take a while, but we will find a more fitting home. In the meantime, as we ponder how to proceed to “next”, we have turned this into an “adventure” and have decided to live in a new way for a while. Instead of  settling  into a  bland rental house, we are going to sign the lease on a beautiful,  smaller condo in a neighborhood where we can walk to the Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings and ride our bikes to the parks on warm summer eves.  There’s a lot of possibility out there. We simply have to trust we will find it. And some days that is easier said than done.

What a ride! That fateful  Sunday morning I went to the grocery store and here I am, three  weeks later, wondering how we will possibly eat all the food in the freezer before we have to move. At least I don’t have to choose paint colors for the big window wall again!

Has opportunity ever knocked and filled your mind with possibility? Let us know how!