A Suspension of Disbelief

 Greetings, fellow swimmers! Here at the Stress Pool, things are pretty normal - the adequate amount of stress in our daily lives, supplemented with a bit of happiness. But, it certainly didn't come easy.

A good writer twists a plot with 'what ifs'...and the reader is asked to suspend their disbelief, holding the author's hand as they are led on a journey of twists and turns. Well, the 'what ifs' have riddled my heart and mind like nobody's business in these past few months. 

What if the sale doesn't go through?

What if we don't find a house?

What if we don't get the bank loan for a new house?

What if the sky falls?

Where is Chicken Little? (I didn't really consider this one, just thought I'd throw that in!)

What if we didn't get everything out of the Grouse House in time? (the garage still had quite a few things in it, and I had visions of hauling things out the day of the closing!)

If you've been following, we put the Grouse House on the market on April 15th, and were made an offer the next day. By Sunday night, we'd signed the necessary paperwork, with DH and I gazing thankfully at our agent, Eric, his cape blowing in the breeze. All pens down, and life was about to move forward: Eric and DH were both on their way to the house - Eric to put a 'Sale Pending' placard on the sign, and DH to pull the garbage can to the curb.

When DH arrived home, he said, "The funniest thing happened."

"Oh? What's that?"

"When I got to the house, someone was there looking at it. I waited, but wanted to get going, so I opened the garage. I sort of startled them."

"That's just crazy! I thought they'd have been done looking for the day."

"Me too," he said. "But then the woman looking at the house said she saw the cross on the wall upstairs, and it gave her a good feeling, and would I leave it for her. I said sure, but didn't have the heart to tell her we'd just accepted an offer."

"Maybe we should have waited a little longer," I said, but then we both shook our heads. It had been a good offer.

Now, swing back to this past week. The closing was scheduled for Thursday morning. DH, Ms. Business, and I trundled two cars over on Sunday night (garbage night), and worked on the rest of the garage, hauling things to the curb. I took a walk through the house (which I always did when I went over), and saw the cross on the wall in the hallway. I started to take it down, then stopped. No, Jesus could stay and watch over the house for a few more days. We would be back on Wednesday night for our own final walk-through, which we did, and I even remembered to take the hand towel and soap we'd left in the bathroom (for those times, you know...). On Thursday morning, I awoke with a start: I'd left the cross on the wall, and the buyers were doing a final walk through at 8:30 that morning. Too late now. The new people would deal with it, but it was a pretty cross, and I was sort of sad to leave it. I was just so used to it being there, I didn't think about it on Wednesday evening.

We sat at the attorney's glossy, white marble table, early, because we didn't want to be late. DH wanted to know what I thought we should do for dinner; I told him once this was over and I no longer wanted to be sick, I would be happy to think about food. In a short while everyone was settled around the table. Our Superhero agent handed us a bottle of champagne (celebrate!), and we got to signing the final paperwork. The buyer leaned over to DH and said, "Thank you for leaving the cross. Do you remember, that night we saw you, and I asked you to leave it because it gave me such a good feeling?"

Meant to be? She is so excited to have the house; to have a space where she can entertain family. It felt good to be a part of someone else's new chapter in life. And, at the same time, we're starting our own. Last Sunday our offer on a house in Bethel Park was accepted, and we are now going through all the crazy hoops of buying a house. A cape cod, and guess what? It has a pool! I'm going to have to make a sign that says "Welcome to the Stress Pool"!

I saw my mentor, Donna, yesterday. She greeted me with a hug and said, "Is that a smile I see on your face? I haven't seen one for a very long time!" Masks aside, yes, I was smiling broadly. For the first time in 2021, we have a weekend where we are not cleaning out a house, or looking for a house, or going to an open house - we are having a relaxing weekend! It only took what, six months?

The 'what ifs' are dissipating...and I am happy to sink into the pool (not the real one, not yet!)! Yes, there are still a few trials to go through. We should close on the house by the end of June, early July, and then we can start on the painting and decorating our new space. There is also a surgery in June (I've been referring to it as 'clean up in aisle six! Girl things, you know).Won't be submerging into that pool until sometime in July! 

In the meantime, the Stress Pool is always open, and I'm always glad for a little company in the waters! So come on in, bring your favorite floatie and a beverage, and let's chat as we enjoy the waters - and this time, you can leave your disbelief behind. Until next time!