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Sunday, August 21, 2011

Marti's Musings: Plan C, D, and E

Thanks for all the congratulatory wishes on our 34th anniversary.  We are mightily blessed to have each other, and still like (and love!) each other after all this time.  God is good! 

We enjoyed our weekend away, in the Journey.  We headed to Winchester, VA - which is only about 15 miles from West Virginia.  It is far enough from home to feel like we are 'away' - yet close enough if I have to respond to work.  (ugh)  Our anniversary dinner was celebrated in Old Town Winchester - a quaint little town.  Paul reveled in the history of the place, me?  I just loved being with him, and walking the brick streets that were shut off to traffic.  We found a REAL Italian restaurant - Paul's fav - to enjoy dinner.  We even had enough for lunch the next day.  Gotta love 2-for-1 meals!  :-)  We stopped by a little bakery/booth/kiosk on the street, and purchased some homemade mini pies, a whoopee pie, and some fudge.  Unfortunately they sound better than they tasted.  :-(  Most of it ended up in the trash.

Today we had another showing of our house - first one all week.  And right on the tails of another recommendation from the realtor to drop the price again! You can imagine our disappointment (we sure can sympathise with Bill and Nancy!), frustration, anger, disbelief...  well, you get the picture. 

So, for several days we have been coming up with alternate plans, beside just Plan B.  Which, by the way, is dimming in interest.  My job is becoming increasingly stressful (you know how it goes - finances up, and things settle down; finances down, and things start heating up again) - frankly, it is getting o.l.d. - and that's not referring to my age!  LOL  At some point, the decision has to be focused on quality of life, and forget about planning down to the penny.  You know the saying:  Man plans, God laughs.  Well, that may not be biblical, but pretty darn close.  He obviously has different plans than we do.  How often do we find ourselves in that spot in life?  OK, perhaps we are slow learners....

So, we have talked, and talked and talked about alternatives to Plan A and Plan B.  Do we rent?  That would change things on the road for us.  Do we drop the price?  That, too, would change our on-the-road plan.  Do we hold tight?  That means continuing in the ever stressful job - and you know what stress can do to a person. 

Today's call was timely, in that we had been discouraged that no one called to show the house all week long.  We had heard that the market picks up in September...  so, we are hoping and praying that today's showing will result in at least an offer.  The first offer, mind you!  *sigh*

Patience was never my strong suit.  We have much to be thankful for - our beautiful family, each other, our health and  many other blessings too numerous to mention.  So, we - for now- will wait for something to break or an indication of which direction to head.

Knowing we have blog supporters pulling for us sure help us during this limbo time.  Knowing God is in control keeps us going.  And Paul's humor keeps me sane.

Thanks for stopping by - and welcome to our newest followers!  (I would recognize you by name, but my laptop isn't showing that information- and hasn't for sometime) I occasionally will see the total number, so I see it is growing! 



15 comments:

  1. glad you had a great anniversary...ours was spent camping with the 'grands' ...hoping you have many showings and offers on the house...dont' let the realtor pressure you to drop the price..if you have the time to 'wait it out' it may be more to your benefit...but I know how anxious it can be wanting to sell asap...the waiting is definitely the hard part..good luck!
    Elaine

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  2. glad to hear you had a very Happy anniversary!..we are sending you good 'house selling karma'..cause it sure didn't work for us!..we are hoping you have much better luck!!!

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  3. Glad you had such a great week-end together. I know what you mean about the fudge and stuff looking better than it tastes. We've often done the same thing. Waiting for that one buyer to come along can be so hard. But they will come along. Always remember that and don't give up.

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  4. Glad to hear the celebration was a big success. We stayed in Winchester last year. Were you by any chance in the Candy Hill Campground?

    Hang in there on the house. This is a challenging time to be a home owner.

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  5. Just keep seeing that SOLD sign in your yard and don't worry (if that's possible), it will all work out.

    Hope you can find a plan that allows you both to be retired. Life is too short to be stressed that's for sure.

    How lucky you are to have each other and your love after so many years!

    I know Paul's humor sure helps me and I'm not even there for it first hand.

    I'm anxious to see him doing the happy dance around that SOLD sign!

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  6. I think most of us have been in your shoes. Selling a house is hard and extremely stressful. Hopefully, this too will pass and you'll be on the road before long in your Journey! Our fingers and toes are crossed for you.

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  7. I know the housing market is down, but I feel certain that in this great country of ours there are at least enough buyers to help us change our life for the better!!

    I do know what stress can do and that is not a good thing!! We too have to decide whether to lower the price. I keep asking, "What is a year of my life worth?" The answer will come at the right time:o))

    In the meantime, keep enjoying yourself locally. You are NOT your job, so do not let it stress you out. I keep thinking, "What is the worst they could do to me?" I guess that would be "FIRE ME"... WOO HOO...decision made;o))

    IT WILL ALL WORK OUT... Nancy

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  8. Just remember that you do have options. That's much better than most folks it seems. Enjoy your local parks and relax. It'll happen when it happens.
    Syl

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  9. When I sold my house, it was for less than I expected, but it all worked out for the better. I have never regretted my decision. :)

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  10. Glad the anniversary celebration was a success.

    I have to agree with Gin and Syl, at least you have options. You're happy, warm, comfortable, have money, have each other and, although currently stressed, are much luckier than many.
    It's going to work out. There's that other old saying, "all things happen for a reason". I truly believe that. Sometimes, it just takes us awhile to figure out what the reason was ;)

    Hang in there!

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  11. Keep taking those weekend getaways as often as you can. For one thing, it seems to instigate the showings, but just getting away will also help you to relax. We know how stressful the waiting game is, but your buyer is out there. They just haven't found your house yet.

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  12. I'm late, but Happy Anniversary. It's a wonderful thing how you obviously love each other. I just have one question, Marti. Didn't his sideburns cause you to hesitate committing yourself to him?

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  13. I hear you on how the job has gotten o.l.d. With 16 months left to retirement, there are days when it's hard to come up with the enthusiasm to go into the office. Hang in there. We're firm believers in things happening for a reason -- though that reason may not be apparent to us until later. Focus on the positives in your life ... and keep camping. Maybe we'll run into you at Bull Run :-)

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  14. Will have to check out that Winchester campground for a change of pace. We'll be in site 21 or 23 (can't recall for sure) ... stop by if you get reservations; I know they were short on FHUs, but still had some E-only sites available.

    P.S. Feel free to delete this comment. Didn't see an email address in your profile, so I thought I'd respond via the commenting tool.

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  15. Happy Anniversary. I too agree with the others. Don't settle too low for what you really want, it will come and realtors want their money too. September is a great month for people to buy houses, it's before the holidays. Hang in there, we're thinking of you.

    I'm not a patient person either, it was terrible waiting to sell.

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