Bittersweet

The option period is now over...or not, as it turns out, because it isn't over until it's over.  Yeah, it's complicated...appraisal has to come back free & clear and since the buyers are using an FHA loan, that has to be approved...so technically, (and no, I don't completely understand it), the option period isn't over despite the fact that 10 days have come and gone since they put the offer on the house.  Appraisal happened this morning.  We were trying to get the house "show ready" for that while simultaneously keeping tabs on our dog Belle who just had cherry eye surgery yesterday.  This morning she was throwing up; apparently some of the meds didn't agree with her.  "Show ready" and puking dog don't exactly mix; add four children to the mix, & I have to admit that I lost my patience & raised my voice. Fortunately, Belle seems to be getting an appetite again & the little bits of food that we've offered have stayed down over the last hour and a half.  And the appraisal is done, so I can let my guard down on the housecleaning front.

After the appraiser left, I went out to get the mail and noticed that the sign in front now says "SOLD."  And I am feeling sad.  I knew it would happen, but still...I will miss this house of memories, I will miss this neighborhood, & I will miss our neighbors.  God has truly blessed us here.  Not saying that we haven't had trials & troubles in the last 8 1/2 years, because I could surely name a few.  The blessings have far outweighed the trials, for sure though.  We have had truly awesome  neighbors here, the kind that bring you fresh cookies & brownies when you move in, the kind that don't hesitate to call you when they're missing an ingredient for a recipe and the kind that always have the dish or pan that you need for the recipe you want to make, the kind that borrow your tools and lend you theirs, the kind that bring you dinner & share their homemade jams & jellies, even the kind that loan out their vacuum cleaner when your house goes on the market & yours spontaneously breaks.  We have had three children here, we've lost two babies here, and we have spent all but 18 months of our child-raising years here.  We even gave birth to our last two in the master tub upstairs...priceless memories!  We've weathered storms here, both literally & figuratively, and while we didn't always feel stronger for it at the time, I can look back & say with confidence that we've grown closer to each other & to God because of them.  We've cried out to God here, and we've heard Him speak here, too.  Yep, we've truly lived LIFE here!  Bittersweet as I meditate on all that we've often taken for granted & amazed that we've been called to something so radically different.  Trusting you, Lord, for the journey ahead.