Festival of Lights Parade

Happy Monday!

Last week was a bumpy ride for sure. As you all know, Dave and I are house shopping and really trying to find that perfect place we can be excited about buying and living in. We are feeling pressured because we need to move out of this house. You can't buy a house under pressure. We may end up having to move twice (rent for a while longer until we find our next, real Home Sweet Home), although neither of us wants to do that and in fact, I'm not even sure we could find a short term rental. 

We found a house that was great, nearly new, all new amenities, a gorgeous kitchen, on almost an acre, but the location is darn near on Hwy 49. We thought, we can fence it, we can do this, we can do that, and we wrote an offer. They accepted it but we weren't excited. I didn't sleep all that night, I was worried, what if Spencer gets out and finds his way on to Hwy 49? Mason can't come and go as he gets older, who let's their kid ride a bike on a Hwy? Dave got up to go to drill the next morning and as soon as I knew he was awake, I told him I was worried. He paused and said, "We're on the same page. I have been awake all night feeling a sense of foreboding about this house. What if Spencer gets out and runs onto the Hwy?" Boy, those intuitions can sure come on strong when one is trying to sleep. I emailed the other agent and told him we can't buy this house. Back to the drawing board.

Saturday night was Auburn's annual Festival of Lights parade and I have to say, it may have been the best one I've ever seen. We were invited to a party at a friend's home who lives right on the parade route, it was awesome, good food, lots of people and front row seats. 

Sunday was work, work, work! I showed houses to some of my clients who recently accepted an offer on their house. It's a tricky dance to sell and buy, and this one is a little more so as their adult daughter is helping them in preparation for what may be down the pike with her having to help them as they age and eventually likely sell the property. As tough as it can be to have so many cooks in the kitchen, I applaud them for thinking ahead and taking action to try to make things easier later. As you all know, Dave and his sister are dealing with his moms declining health and it's harder than hard. They feel like they don't know what to do, or who to call for answers. It seems as if every one who might have answers has an agenda or an interest in how or who they refer us to. It's awful to feel so helpless and know that you absolutely have to take action at the same time, what is the right thing to do? And for Dave, each time he's set forth a plan that would seem to be the right road, something happens and the plan gets nixed...back to square one, what is the right thing to do? I'm not in their shoes but I can only imagine that I would trust that I was making the best decision possible with the information I had and do my best to keep my faith that it will all work out along with my sense of humor. 

This is the last week of school and I'm ready to be done. You all know I love being a student, but the last few weeks with my work schedule being so busy, have been a real challenge. It's by no means what Dave is facing, but it's stressful nonetheless. I hope your holidays are shaping up nicely and you are feeling the magic of the season and not the stressors of other life events. Happy Holidays!