Anticipation - January 11 and 12

We had anticipated closing on our property and moving into our new house on December 30. It was not to be. Instead we spent ten nights in the local Comfort Inn and eleven days eating at restaurants. It was an unexpected detour and expense on the way to our new home. I really believed that we all made the best of a difficult situation.

We were so relieved on January 11 when we received the call that our mortgage had been approved and we could close at the end of the day. Filling out the paperwork and signing the forms seemed like almost a let down after the hours of waiting.

Since we’d never been in the house as a family, we decided to spend our last night in the hotel but to drive over to the house to visit it together. The snow started at about 3pm and by the time we reached the house, everything was coated in white. It looked like a perfectly set Christmas card picture.

We enjoyed time familiarizing ourselves with our new place and tried to picture our life there. The previous owners had left quite a bit of furniture and other supplies including pans, plates and utensils. We engaged in a rowdy Nerf gun battle. R carried me over the threshold while the children rolled their eyes and smiled with their whole faces.

By the time we left the house, the roads had gone from Christmas card lovely to borderline dangerous. R had his truck complete with four wheel drive and managed the climb out with no problem. My own front wheel drive van was a bit more challenged and I was thankful when R switched vehicles with me. His own snow driving experience enabled him to get the van out and had us on our way after a fearful breakdown on my part.

The next morning we said goodbye to our hotel friends, packed our van and made our round-about way to the house. Required stops on the way included grocery store, electric company and library. We arrived at the house to find a dear friend already at the house and our front walk and driveway cleared of snow and ice.

Settling in began almost immediately, at least as much as it could until our furniture arrived the next day. We were most thankful for the kitchen gear that the previous owner had left because it enabled us to eat dinner in our own home.

Whether the new house and the new life would live up to our expectations remained to be seen but the anticipation of ownership had certainly been fulfilled.