Well, we've gone and moved....

Well, we did it.  With the countdown on to baby Esch coming and my parents leaving on their mission in a month, we went ahead and moved into my parents' house.  This is NOT something I recommend doing while parents are STILL LIVING in the house.  We only moved a third of our stuff down, and there have already been quite a few rough patches, some hurt feelings, and lessons in eggshell walking--not an easy feat.  Of course, it doesn't help that one party is emotionally charged with leaving their home behind and departing the country for two years, and the other party is hormo-tionally charged with pregnancy hormones and anxious about juggling two kids.

 My parents' living room at the moment, which will probably see little change in the next 3-4 weeks until we can clear out room for Esch stuff.

But the good--make that GREAT--news is that the week we planned on moving anyway, we FINALLY, after two long years, were able to put our house under contract!!!!  Not the price we've wanted, but the timing is right to just cut bait and walk away.  And this buyer seems to be quite reasonable, in comparison to the neurotic buyer of '08 and the non-committal buyer of '09.  (Though I'm not a fan of this home inspector, who seems quite reluctant to share info on how to remedy situations.)  But barring unforeseen obstacles, we should have our house sold by the time the baby comes. (Preferably before.) 

I can't help but think of an Elder Oaks article that I came across last month as I was chucking old BYU Magazines.  It was all about timing and surrendering ourselves to God's timing.  He said you can have the best-laid plans for the most righteous reasons, but ultimately, it is not our choice in life how the timing of things works out.  Examples he referred to included finding your spouse and moving from place to place.  Hmm.  Both quite appropo in my life.  When I stumbled upon this article, I thought it was to help me more with the visiting teaching message of last couple of months on being emotionally resilient in learning self-reliance and managing resources.  But now, with the sale of our house happening just as we were planning to move, just before the baby comes, and just before my parents leave, I see that the article was to prepare me to again learn the lesson of Ecclesiates 3:1: "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven."

I suppose I should have closed with just that, but I feel the need to vent a little.  If you want to stop reading, feel free.  But since this is my blog....I have to admit I do have quite a bit of seller's remorse.  I love my house and how we've really made it ours over the last 6 3/4 years.  I love the neighborhood, especially our new neighbors who moved in last year.  I love all the natural light that comes in through the south windows.  I love the new doors we put in.  I love all the snow we get up there (despite only 25 miles farther north).  I love feeling independent and self-sufficient, grown-up and responsible.  I worry that we'll never get that again.  I'm sure it's hard for everyone to leave their first house.  But if I had another house of my own to look forward to, I think I could adjust.  However, it's a bit depressing, as well as I feel like I'm regressing to move into my parents' home, the place I grew up.  Sure, we'll be saving a truckload of money each month.  Sure, we'll eventually have more room.  Sure, we'll be minutes from Kevin's work.  Sure, we'll have more family time.  Sure, we'll save money by not paying Cook County's insane sales tax.  Sure, we'll have access to a pool for two summers.  But with future housing so uncertain, and, as one person put it to Kevin, needing a shoehorn to make two households fit into one, it certainly makes the seller's remorse cut even deeper.