Three Bedrooms, Two Baths, and a Backyard
I bought a house.
I’ve been renting a condo on the east side of Franklin for almost exactly four years. About two months ago, the owners of the condo let me know that they wanted to sell the condo. Now is a good time for them to do so, since all the new condos in this section have been sold and some of the older condos are going on the market. I decided not to buy the condo from them. It’s been a wonderful place, a much needed bit of stability in my life since the divorce, but I knew it was time to move into a house. I’ll be forever grateful to the owners of the condo, a wonderful couple from my church who gave me a great deal on the perfect place to stay during a very hard time in my life.
When I broke the news that we were moving to the girls, Hannah was enthusiastic. Between the chance to decorate a new room and the outside possibility of getting a dog, she was good to go. Lily, on the other hand, was distraught. I should have seen that coming. This condo is the only place she’s known me; she wasn’t even two years old when we moved in here. Poor girl cried all night. It wasn’t until the next day, when we started looking at some houses, that she started to see the upside to the move!
Lily’s on-board now, for the most part. I think she still wants her own room in the new house, but she and Hannah are going to have to continue to share a bedroom. One of the best parts of the move, at least from my perspective, is that we’ll use the third bedroom as a playroom. This two-bedroom condo has been great, but having all three of us hang out all the time in the giant family room can get a little tough. In the new place, the girls will be able to have fun in the playroom upstairs while I catch up on email (or blogging!) at my desk downstairs. I’m really looking forward to that! I love my girls, but we need a little space sometimes.
The last two months have been a whirlwind of house hunting and mortgage documentation. (Taking three trips out of town for work didn’t make things any easier!) Given my limitations on price and geography, I didn’t have a lot of houses to choose from, and I thought I might end up in a slightly larger condo. But I found the charming (that’s code for “small,” right?) house shown above in Fieldstone Farms, a very family friendly neighborhood on the north side of town. I was worried that Fieldstone Farms was too far away from the kids’ school, but a couple of friends who make a similar commute every day assured me that if I take the right roads, it’s not too bad. And the commute into work shouldn’t be too bad, either, as long as I time it right. I’ll find out for myself next week!
The great thing about Fieldstone Farms is that there are so many families there, along with a number of friends from church. I have nice neighbors here in the condo park, but they come and go and very few of them have kids. I’m looking forward to being part of a community where I’ll see other parents and kids out playing. FF is also zoned for some great schools. I may not need them, since the girls go where their mother is zoned, but it’s still a sign of a good neighborhood.
I’m also excited about having a yard again. I’m sure I’ll get tired of the yard work at some point, but right now I’m looking forward to having a little space of my own. The backyard is small, but not as small as some in Fieldstone Farms, and it has a nice privacy fence. The house is on a corner lot, so I have a pretty sizable front/side yard. Yes, more to mow, but more to enjoy, too. And there’s a patio in the back. It might be time to buy myself a grill.
First, however, we have to finish packing. I closed on the house yesterday, but the movers aren’t coming until Sunday. The girls are out of school and with me all week, so I had long planned on taking the whole week off work. When I found out my closing date, I knew this “vacation” week would turn into a packing and moving week. My family isn’t really gathering anywhere for Thanksgiving this year, so I’m not missing much by staying in town. It’s an usual way to spend Thanksgiving with my kids, but I’m guessing it will be a memorable holiday!
The fun really starts Sunday afternoon, after the movers finish their work and the girls and I get to unpack and decorate. I’m thinking I might need to take advantage of some of those Black Friday deals to get a few things for the house…