Ever since Jay asked me last weekend if he could show our house to some potential buyers, I have been in a freenzied state. I have been rushing around trying to get as much done as possible to make the house as appealing as it can be for these people, whoever they are. Every spare minute has been spent painting, vaccuming, dusting, mopping, and arranging everything "just so." Given that I had three children under the age of three for the majority of the time that I was running around on a cleaning rampage, I didn't get as much accomplished as I would have hoped.
Not all the basement rooms got painted.
Cabinet handles didn't get "updated."
New flooring wasn't laid in the kitchen or bathroom.
The basement didn't get carpeted.
And we didn't win the lottery to be able to afford to do most of those projects anyway.
BUT, my house is the cleanest it has ever been in a very long time. Every room has been dusted. All the floors with carpet have been not only vaccumed but steam cleaned as well. The ceiling fans have been washed -- I had no idea they were so gross!!! The other floors have been swept and mopped. Cupboards, floorboards, doorframes, and anything else I could think of have been wiped down and sanitized. Piles of papers and other random assortments of stuff have been organized, or at least shoved into closets or drawers for the time being (like I said I had three small children who needed changed, fed, and played with).
I didn't just work inside either, but braved the heat and did my best to get our yard and landscaping in top form as well. I pulled weeds in the garden, in the landscaped area, and even from between the cracks of the bricks in our fire pit spot. My finger tips are now numb, but all the weeds are gone (for now at least).
This morning I was doing a few last minute things like wiping down the table one more time and picking up tiny specks of dirt from the carpet. The potential buyers were scheduled to see the house around 11:30, but we left at 9 this morning. I didn't want to have to keep telling Coralyn, "Don't touch that!" or "Don't spill your milk!" So we headed to Chick-fil-A, where Miss Julie greeted us with a huge smile and a big hug. She was delighted to see us, and we couldn't have been happier to see her as well. Coralyn played and played and played. At 10:30, she informs me she is ready to go home. Since that wasn't an option, we decided to visit Hy-Vee. Coralyn enjoyed a piece of cheese from the deli and Kellah slept in the sling while we just walked around the store. Finally, around 11 we thought it would be fun to surprise Lawrence at work -- recess is at 11:15, so that would be perfect! We hit every green light on the way, so we had a few minutes to spare, so I drove to the little park in the area where we just might be moving. Sadly, the slide was too hot, so we just sat on the bench for a bit. As we were getting back in the car to head to the school, Lawrence called, from the DMV wanting to know where the newest insurance card for the car was so he could get the new tag. I had totally forgotten that he had a technology class this morning and wasn't actually at school. We met for lunch at Subway instead. He ate his sandwich and then had to get going so he could be at school for the afternoon. We finished our lunch and waited for Jay to let us know that the showing was done.
Right around noon, he sent me a text saying they were gone. We packed up and came home. The girls crashed (both of them!).
I spent a good chunk of nap time looking at houses for sell in the Kellybrook area.
Granted, I have no idea if the people today even liked our house, let alone want to make an offer on it. We just have to wait and see.
All that hurrying and scurrying. Time seemed to fly by as I was trying to get everything done. Now the clock doesn't seem to be moving. Time appears to be standing still, as we wait for word either way. Tick, tock, tick, tock.
I hate waiting. But for now, it's all I can do. Wait, wait, wait.
"Wait patiently on the Lord, and He will act." I am holding tightly to that verse for sure!
Ah, the journey of life, with all its twists and turns, its ups and downs. As we travel along the path God has prepared for us, I figure I might as well share some of our adventures on the way. Maybe then, I can make a little better sense of things!
As a person who is always looking at houses to buy and never selling them, you've definitely made me re-think the way I approach... I mean, very rarely do I even give an answer either way, most people don't. Most people don't say, oh this isn't the house for me, or ooooh I love it I'll take it! They just mentally compare it to others and the people who actually own the house will probably never hear anything at all unless an offer is made. My advice is that well... a lot of people will probably look at the house before anyone even makes an offer and even when they do, their offer will probably be contingent on a bank loan plus, well they'll try to haggle you down in price most likely. I've been watching this my whole life from the other side but thinking of it from your point of view I might just be a little more thoughtful in the future when looking at homes!
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