House

 

…well…the Kieslings have an announcement.

We’re buying a house!

We’ve slowly been working our way toward purchasing a house. In January, we got the ball rolling. By February, we started looking at a few houses. One promising house had a trampoline in the backyard. We gave the ol’ trampoline a test run; my first time jumping on a giant trampoline. It was awesome. The trampoline kinda got us enamored…but, (eventually) we decided to pass.

On March 16, we spent the afternoon looking at houses. We toured one house that just really caught our eye. It just felt…like home…and a bit like a dream house…but without a dream house price tag. The house next door is also on sale. We toured it, too. By the end, Dan said, “Let’s put an offer in.” I agreed.

It was at this point that Dan started to get nervous. I am supposed to be the restraint. The one who says not yet; who is cautious. I am not the one who is supposed to say, “Ok. Sure. Let’s put in an offer.” As we went through all the documents to place the offer, I was fine. (Well, I actually was battling the start of some type of wicked sinus infection, so I wasn’t entirely coherent.)

It was that night that I started to get nervous. Woke up in the middle of the night wondering, “What. have. we. done??” And I started to worry about all of the details and if we could really make this work and if we have just done the craziest thing and well, in general wonder if I am ready for a commitment this big.

Over that week, (let’s mention again that I was sick and on cold meds, so sleeping through the night was made difficult) I woke up in the middle of the night twice. Part of those fears plaguing my mind was this idea that I am officially an adult. One reason we are buying a house is to get ready for a family (no, that announcement is not part of this blog. Mom.). One thing that freaked me out was this vision of the future that is just saving for repair, making repair, saving for repair, making repair…and doing the same thing over. and over. and over.

We ran the numbers for our monthly bills. …we could afford it. I was shocked; I wanted an excuse to not like it; to say no – to turn away from the risk. We talked with our realtor and lender, again and expressed our concerns. They provided us with more information. Our fears (my fears, really) were eased. I finally felt like I could like it.

Through this process, I realized some things about myself: I am really cautious. I will keep myself from liking something until it’s been approved and okay. I did that with Dan; I did that with the house. I’m pretty happy with Dan, so I think the house will end up being a keeper.

Today, the loan was approved. Tomorrow, we are setting the date for the signing. In a week, we’ll be painting, prepping, and moving…

Wow.

Grown-ups.