February Showers Brings May Buying A House

Well. You can say we're wishy-washy, you can say we're vague... but, when we realize we really want to do something, you cannot say that we hesitate.  But let me rewind a bit... 

The end of the holidays was so hard. But we (I, anyway) had no idea what was coming. When you got back to SF, to find housing (as I for-realsies finished up a resume and found some jobs I was interested in), the friends you were staying with (a couple) broke up. There had been breezes to this effect but when it finally happened it happened FAST. And, with that, your living situation got reeeeeeally uncomfortable. 

We were adjusting to this reality: finding short-term or perhaps longer-term housing for you, attempting damage control with your relationships with the couple-formerly-known-as-roommates... but when things fell into place, they fell like concrete and stayed. In 1, 2, 3...

1) You mentioned to a boss that things were strained, that you were considering heading east. 

2) He asked if you'd be interested in a transfer to a new office opening in the east [something we did not even know existed before this time]. 

3) You were on the east coast--and working--within 15 days. 

Wyoming has an excellent network
of highway webcams. 

January 5 to January 20. I am looking at the calendar and those are exactly the dates. 

You worked another 10 days in SF after that, closing things up. They gave you 2.5 days off, and $500, to make the drive to Virginia. (...........) I met you in Laurel, MD, and we stayed the weekend in a Holiday Inn Express and a Red Roof Inn BWI (where you stayed for another week afterwards). You drove through at least one snowstorm, and I (as your navigator) steered you straight into it. It was apparently pretty scary--and that must be true for you to have admitted it, professional driver that you are. (I still feel pretty bad about not noticing it before it was almost too late!)

We were in the remnants of the winter storm when you arrived to MD. It was cold in VA and DC but frigid in MD. It was so good to be together but that weekend felt inexplicably dark. I still can't quite explain that. But it was cold, and we didn't know what was going to happen. 

"Happy Birthday,
motherfuckers."
(He really said that!)

The refrigerator dressed up as your car on a lark.

But being on the same coasts, boy. When compared with 3,000 miles, 3 hours is not as daunting of a problem. 

You stayed in the Red Roof Inn for a while. You stayed with Lenore and Edwin for a while. Lenore and I made you a Very Complicated Cake and Very Involved Pastas for your 30th birthday. Finally, in the first week of February, we found you an apartment--the cheapest we had seen (but still more $$ than our C'ville apartment): A one-room efficiency in Greenbelt, MD: America's Coolest Planned Community That Was Innovative In The New Deal And Still Kind've Works (tm). 

That's new home satisfaction!

It's an oversimplification, but that more or less brings us to now. 

This guy also had a weird spring.
He looks hungover.

You come to Charlottesville most weekends. I go up to our "city home" occasionally. 

We decided a few weeks ago (.... yes) to start looking more concertedly at houses in C'ville: somewhere to put some effort into, some time, and make a good investment (for now, for 5 years, for 10 years, who knows). Within a week, we found one we were very interested in. (Actually I was pretty ambivalent about it until you pointed out the great condition everything was in... under the bright pink and mint paint and old lady curtains.) And when we saw the fully-grown fig tree in the yard my heart nearly lept out of my chest for joy. 

The house is currently under contract. 

We are waiting for final mortgage approval and, while I have every reason to believe things are fine, I will feel much, much better about things once we've officially gotten the once-and-for-all approval. (It terrifies me that we might not, even though I can't think of a single good reason why we wouldn't.) 

Distance is still hard. You still live in MD during the week. I spoke with you 15 minutes tonight and 10 minutes yesterday... nights just aren't your thing. Weekends have been, mostly, great. But I will be so happy when this phase passes, in one part, then another: 

May 30: house closing (I know, I know, then the real work and all that)

Sept 21: Your 1yr anniversary with SC, when you could leave if you wanted to and still retain the benefits you wanted to keep. 

So. Eventful 5 months of 2012. 

Posed to be an eventful 5 more... though hopefully in wholly different ways. 

I am tired. I am anxious. I feel lucky to have what we have and do what we're doing... and nervous that it might all go away. 

Come on, June. I've got tomato babies to plant.