Derek and I have been out of the house since 9/2016. Mom has been out of the house since...shit...2011? It was time to sell the house. I loved living there, but the commute was ridiculous, so we moved. It sat empty for a long time. Mom eventually got a renter--the cousin of our very awesome neighbor. We thought it was going to be fine. It turns out the guy was kind of a scumbag, and gave my mom a hard time about the realtor coming by and doing showings. She FINALLY got him out yesterday, and closed on the house today.
It was on the market for 3 whole days. She got a full price offer from "a single mother". We were blown away. Today, my mom called me and said that the woman was about my age (36), was the single mom of 3 kids (just like her...), AND, GET THIS...a nurse.
They sat across from each other and had a good conversation. I wish I could have been there. Mom said that the woman's realtor was talking about a medical condition he has and that he's tired of getting prodded because they can never seem to find a vein. Mom told me that she and the buyer said, in unison, "But you have such good veins!" My eyes filled up with tears when she told me that, because I knew that she had made peace and was good with selling her house to this woman. She has BEEN this woman. She said that the buyer was grinning ear to ear and was SO EXCITED about getting her kids into the house. My heart soared.
I wish I could talk to her children. I would tell them to watch out in the yard because there are holes and you'll definitely sprain an ankle. There's a cat buried back there too...don't freak out. Get a swing set or a big fort. Don't run around the pool. You can definitely climb out onto the garage roof from the back bedroom, but it's really not a great idea to try to actually sneak out that way. Just sit up there with a book when you need some alone time. BE GOOD TO YOUR MOTHER BECAUSE SHE WORKS SO HARD TO MAKE YOU HAPPY.
My memories of that house are countless and priceless. I swam in the pool until my skin wrinkled. I ran barefoot down the street in my bathing suit. I caught fireflies. I had sleepovers. I learned to cook. Proms, boyfriends, spinning my flag in the backyard until it was too dark or my arms were too tired to go on. There were Christmases and Thanksgivings and birthdays...more memories than there are words. There are a lot of bad things that happened, too, but home is home.
I brought my daughter home from the hospital to that house. Derek and I lived there for 9 months when we were a fresh couple, and then again after we got married. Amelia took her first steps in the living room, I rocked her in my childhood bedroom and never wanted to leave. I ugly-cried so badly our last night there...just so many memories. That house was my home.
I am so glad that someone in a similar situation to my mom is taking the reigns. I'm glad that her kids will get to experience a fraction of the childhood I had.
I have had tears streaming down my face pretty much the whole time I've been typing. I'm not really crying...the tears are just falling. They're happy and sad at the same time. I am getting over a cold and cannot afford to have any more snot in my sinuses so I'm going to sign off now.
