Today I fell in love. I know, I know, I said I wasn't looking for a new one yet. I know I've also said I wasn't going to look. And I'd never buy an old one again. But this one just caught my eye. I saw it, mentioned it to Husband and that was that. A few days later, I mentioned it again because I could stop thinking about it. He admits he's thought about it as well and even researched it online. We did a drive-by and it was perfect. Well almost perfect. But we can look past a few imperfections, right? So we called to see if we could see it better.
And you know what, it was everything we ever wanted. "It" is a 90+ year old farm house. Complete with a barn (okay, so the barn isn't in that great of shape, but it could be). It has 7 bedrooms and 13 rooms all together. It has a yellow kitchen (I always wanted a yellow kitchen). It has a stone patio and swimming pool (we've always wanted a pool). It sits on just over 2 acres, which is enough for me. I
n the center of the stone patio, is an old fountain, but it would make a great fire pit. Or fishpond - we've both claimed it for different things. It has a tree swing and an old wooden swing set. It has an old tree house. It has a driveway! A circular drive. One where we could actually, you know, have friends come over and park in. It has a large bay window. To sum it up, it has everything we've both ever wanted and everything we've dreamed of. It is the house we've been trying to make this one. Moe's face was just one of absolute joy as she sat one the swing as we looked around the yard. Her tiny body swaying back and forth as the cool air blew in.
The price is low for it. We went in expecting it to be in need of a lot of love. But it has a new roof, new furnace new electrical. All it would need from us is new paint - more modern paint. It's in a different town with a better school system. One that if I chose, I could be tempted to send my kids to public school. It's off the main room, but not to far from the house we currently reside in, so we wouldn't have to change anything. The girls could still be on the same soccer team, play with their same friends and go to the same school.
We walked in the barn, from one room to another when Moe looks up and asks
"but where are the horsies?" . No honey, no horses, but we could if we wanted too. As we walked to the back of the barn, where there were some old stalls, she again asked where the horses were.
In that hour, I envisioned parties on patio, the kids running into the pool, them chasing each other through the yard. The leaves were falling and I could "see" them running through the leaves. I could see them in the tree house. I could imagine them playing hide and seek - in the hidden stair case, or one of the many bedrooms. I could imagine coffee on our private balcony or sitting outside with a friend in the morning for a nice cup of
joe. I could hear the laughter and see the joy. I could see the place where I'd plant my roses and my vegetables. I could see the barn cats we'd get
because the girls always wanted a kitten but daddy has allergies. I could see the puppies chasing our older dog through the field.
But alas, as quickly as I fell in love, I knew it's too good to be true. While the house is much lower than what is expected, it's still a little out of our price range. If I was working, it could probably be done. But there are too many "ifs". If we didn't have to worry about a new oil bill (we'd be leaving a house here we never had to worry about a heating bill. Solar power is definitely a great thing). I know the market may be great to buy a new house, but it's not so great to sell an old house. And while we'd still probably make a profit off our house, I don't think it would be enough for what we need.*
And so, I sit here with a heavy heart and dream of the house I love.
*We'll find out in a week when we have the Realtor come do a market value assessment.
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You would think with three young girls, I would have plenty of pink pictures to share. But they don't wear much pink. These little guys were at a local agricultural fair earlier this fall. We were watching them when one of them decided it was lunch time and started squealing. When these nine and the seven in the pen next to them are all squealing at once, it's quite a noise. It scared the girls it was so loud!
All in all, I was happy with the results. We usually do the full five miles but due to having all girls walking (instead of being carried or pushed) I was happy with three. I thought we would have to do the quick one mile loop! Overall donations were lower than our previous years, but not as bad as they could be. We raised $730 this year (bringing our seven year walk total to approximately $5,500!).
