We are moving

    We came home from wintering for ten weeks at my brother and sister-in-law’s and the very next day we had a showing and they turned out to be our buyer.  As with any house sale there were offers and counter offers and wish lists but all being said and done we sold our home.  

     Then the real task began.  We had to find a place to live. While in Grand Rapids for the winter I spent days and days and days on end driving neighborhoods, looking online for prices for those neighborhoods, noting how fast or slow things were moving.  What we discovered was anything in our desired price point was selling faster than it could be seen.  Absolutely no exaggeration when I say a house listed at breakfast was sold by lunch.  A house listed at lunch was sold by supper.  

     We knew what we wanted – something smaller than this, something with a little nature to it, something not needing any more than a can of paint, good light, etc.  In other words, take this house into your hands and squeeze it down to manageable size.  After looking, viewing and one false start we believe we found it.

     Unexpectedly, it’s 45 minutes from PH’s family, 20 minutes (I timed it today to make sure) from the northeast side of Grand Rapids,  an hour closer to son and daughter-in-law (and grands) and around the corner and two blocks away from daughter and son-in-law (and girls.)  That was a surprise!   The house and property are connected to a series of National Parks that span 4,600 miles from New York state to the Dakotas.  This house backs up to that property.  Essentially the back yard is acres and acres and acres and acres of undeveloped nature. 

     We aren’t spring chickens anymore, we've evolved to becoming a stewing hen and a tough old rooster and just being in the process right now we both know we could not do this kind of a move in a very few more years.   It goes without saying we will miss this house and the laughter that rang through it. We had such good times here. We made so many memories I can’t hardly look at the pictures without tearing up. We made it our own from scratch, we loved being here.  And we hope that where we go from here the fun and laughter will follow, not because of a house, but because of the people in it.

  

To give myself a little perspective as I work through leaving here I bought myself a present. This beautiful book puts home into perspective.  PH and I believe, even though we are leaving a beautiful building and the lakeshore, we are following our hearts.