Holiday Madness

You thought the holidays were crazy all on their own? Try adding house hunting in the mix. Our current lease is up at the end of the year and we started looking mid-November and quickly found a house, only to have to go under contract before we could turn in our loan paperwork during the week of Thanksgiving. We were saddened by this, but kept looking for a house that would keep our kids in the same school boundaries so they wouldn’t get split up from their friends.

So we found another house in the same neighborhood (about 5 miles from our current location) and made an offer, which after a few rounds of negotiations, we reached an agreement. Yesterday was the inspection. No big surprises or problems for a house of its age and everyone who’s seen pictures so far, loves the kitchen. I don’t think the kids got farther than looking at the pool with the water slide and checking they’d go to the same school.

So now, I’m playing the hurry up and wait game. We close at the end of January, so I’m trying to grab as much writing time before family arrives next week for the holidays and I have to organize the logistics of moving the household across those five miles and keeping as much of our digital contact information the same as possible.

I was telling one friend, it looks fast, chaotic and impulsive, but no one really gets to see how many times we asked if we should start looking or how much inertia we (“We”, maybe it’s just me?) have to overcome to be willing turn my life upside down like this.

Oh, and as far as the holidays being in the mix? The last time we moved, seven years ago, had an even shorter timetable. We decided we would rent instead of buy over Thanksgiving weekend and moved into our current residence on January 2nd. Yep. Ripped down the tree and ran. Glad it’s not going to be quite that hectic, but at least we can keep the tree up for Twelfth Night this year.

Be sure to stop by again on Monday, it’s Excerpt Monday, and I’ll have a new Regency-flavored snippet up. I’m also dusting off my list of blog topics for the new year and hope to do something completely different and less random for Excerpt Mondays next year by putting up sequential snippets that will wrap up in December.

Happy Holidays! Family arrives on Monday and leaves with the New Year so I’m liable to be fairly scarce between now and then.