2009 Reflections - A New Home

2009 – A New Job, New Responsibilities, and A House.

In our six years of marriage we probably searched for a house brutally and dilligently four times, in 3-6 month long binges. I'm not sure we ever believed it was possible. What we desired did not match what we could afford. We began each search with excitement and vigor, only to end the search months later disillusioned, filling the file cabinet with another folder of notes, offers, and flyers advertising homes for sale, again making the decision time and again that it was not possible in our current situation. It was getting a bit repetitive.

With the economic crisis, I'm not sure we even dreamed this would be the year we'd own a home. My consulting job was not looking stable anymore. Obama's $8000 offer gave us the boost we needed to hop on board the roller coaster once again. Halfheartedly, we began our search. Then one afternoon, a job opportunity literally fell into my lap when Tom came home venting about a teaching position at Aveson that they were having some difficulty filling. What about me? I said. A few months later and I was teaching high school history part time. This helped us qualify for a better house. Due to the crazy real estate market, we made offer after offer, only to lose the battle each time.

A beautiful story for another blog, but somehow, it happened. And here we are. Homeowners in Monrovia. It's been a few months but we are still in a dreamlike state. Waiting for the ball to drop or literally waiting for the roof to cave in, we are in shock that this little home is ours. It is far better than we ever imagined. We feel very lucky.

I think my favorite part is the yard. A place to run and jump and play. Trees and greenery. Tom's must be the garage...storage shelves and tools and manly stuff. A lawn to mow, leaves to rake. He is in man heaven. Noah loves his blue bedroom with the fish on the walls. They swim around when he closes his eyes at night. And Jack. Jack adores the outdoors. And the long hallway he can ride or push something down.

It has been a very happy year for us. We are looking forward to opening up our home to family and friends and celebrating life often.