Here we go.

Posted On July 6, 2014

We just spent a delicious weekend away at a beautiful lake with family and friends. I needed this little trip so badly. We're right back to business now. When last I wrote here I finished the entry just as I received word that the first people to see the house had put in an offer: above asking price, no concessions, conventional loan. It was less than 48 hours after listing and we were in a sales contract that was pretty much our ideal. We were a bit stunned and yet also I felt deep inside that this was how it would happen. I mean, I didn't feel that I knew all the details of how this would pan out, and I still don't. There is much more to do and many more details to hash out. However I have felt that, despite all the unknowns, we are headed in the right direction and that our path will open up for us. We just have to continue to choose to walk it- one foot in front of the other.

The inspection and appraisal all went off without a hitch. All that's left to do is pack and leave this place before closing in the first week of August. We've worked hard. It's been strange to focus on fixing and patching and painting just to sell the place. Jeff and I have felt good giving this house the love it deserves, and have since decided that we will raise up our next home with even better care. One of the more symbolic jobs was the re-sodding of the back yard after so many urban farm shenanigans that left it just a bare piece of earth. We were kind of returning it all to this soft fluffy green state. The whole family spends lots of happy barefooted time out here now. I'm busy being hopelessly introspective and finding humor in our new-found value for a lawn. How odd for the family that worked so hard to get rid of it.

I don't know many details about the new owners other than that they seem to be a nice young family. I had hoped we'd be able to find people who would love to inherit an urban farm and pick up right where we left off. I have heard through the grapevine that these new folks are not super interested in that piece, and when I heard that I was disappointed. It took me a couple of minutes, but I quickly realized where I'd gone wrong in my thinking. I have been trying to hang on to this place within my vision of who it would go to, and I realized that I just can't do that. I have to loosen my grip, grab my family and my things, and leave it. Once I fully leaned into that I started to get excited for this new family to inherit what I've felt to be a huge gift in my life. This neighborhood, these sturdy walls, this awesome little town. Welcome to them.

We cleared out the greenhouse the other day. It was a strange and concrete task for me, but one that helped me get in gear. Today I took art off the walls. I had planned to save that for last, but I think I need to detach a bit more if I'm going to get this thing done. Little by little, we're taking things out to the land to store until we're out there. The general plan is this: we'll pack up and move most of our things to store on our property. We'll take suitcases and odds and ends to Jeff's dad's house in Ann Arbor. We'll spend the next couple of months with him and focus on the next steps- getting utilities out on the land and moving a trailer out there, getting our eventual house build approved by the township, etc. We hope to make it out there by the early fall.

Oh also! You know how I was sad to leave some of the plants in my front yard? I know it's silly, but I had gotten attached to a couple. Well, I was hiking through our land a couple of days ago and just beyond the creek I saw Asa's sedge peeking out in the understory. There it was,growing naturally in my new home, with those enchanting little star shaped seed heads. It's just a happy little detail that filled me with relief and confirmation.