Here we are in September already! I made my resignation "facebook official" last Tuesday, which was the first day of school for kids in my state. I was pretty nervous about it because I am friends with a ton of teachers, many of whom are working parents (mostly working MOMS, specifically) and I felt like I was letting them down somehow. I will come right out and say it, though, I SUCKED at balancing work, parenting, being a wife...last year is not something I ever wish to relive! Things are better for our little family this way for now. Maybe if my husband's job wasn't so nuts, things would have been different. And I do hope to someday be back teaching art! For now I am so, so thankful to be able to stay home! This Labor Day was the first in 7 years that I didn't cry! We ended the day with a family walk and I did get teary thinking of how lucky I am that we can swing it financially (with some modifications, but nothing that feels like a terrible sacrifice), but I didn't cry.
We are actively house hunting and made an offer on a beautiful house last Friday. It was perfect. Just perfect! Unfortunately, the next morning the nephew of the sellers came forward that he wanted to buy the home. Considering that the house was built in 1954 and has only had 2 owners, we can understand how the couple selling felt better about keeping it in the family. What timing, though?! It had been on the market for 2 months and he didn't come forward until after we made the offer. My husband and I both still feel pretty down about it. Back to square one! We are afraid that this will make the search more difficult...every house will be compared to this one from here on out. It was the perfect size, layout, distance from my husband's office (4.7 miles...he could have BIKED there in less time than it takes him to drive from our current residence!), and had just the right sized yard (big enough to play/party in, small enough to mow with a reel mower). I already knew where I would put the Christmas tree and I envisioned our daughter learning to jump rope on that concrete driveway. There is a highly rated public elementary school .7 miles away, 3 parks within biking/walking distance, and a library less than 2 miles away. Ack! Still feeling the sting here!
Thankfully we were able to extend our apartment lease through the end of November (we'd be moving in 3 weeks otherwise!). It still doesn't leave us much time to find a house, though. While we look, I will continue to go through all of our belongings. Our goal for this move is to only take things we truly want. Over the last 3 months we have donated 22 grocery bags of stuff to a local thrift store as well as recycled or tossed many other items. Our goal for "someday" is to be able to fit all of our belongings in a car (save for large furniture, obviously). It will be an interesting journey!
