Beth had to stare this idea
in the face about a year ago. She sold
her house, moved into mine, stopped work, took her son to college, and started
a new life with me, among other things in a relatively short time. Why not…rhetorically speaking.
Well, why not again?
So here we go…
Downsizing? Less maintenance? A need for more stress? Call it what you will, but we have decided to
leave my residence of the last 25 years and join the townhome life. No more lawn mowing, snow shoveling, exterior
painting, etc… Like your first jump off
a high dive platform, making the move to take the plunge can come in different
forms. Some choose to run off the end
and plummet, waving their arms and screaming in self inflicted terror. For us, we put our toes in to test the water
before climbing up the 30-foot ladder.
Then acclimatized to the altitude, while enjoying the views. And finally, we snuck over to the edge, grabbed
each other’s hand, and stepped off the edge into the daunting abyss of real
estate. The forms, the signatures, the
walk-thrus, but ultimately the possibilities.
In the meantime, our foray
into house sitting has us on our second sit.
Our first in Colorado, was pretty much what we were looking for and
hoping for. Actually more. We made some good connections and hope to
pick up where we left off, next time, trying to fit in and be as much of a
“local” as we can, on a temporary basis.
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| The couch trio is made of an old deaf dog, a geriatric cat, and an epileptic canine. |
Previous to our first sit,
after being rejected a number of times for other house sitting opportunities we
had applied for, we made the connection between having experience and the lack
of it. The more references you have, the
more trusting you appear to a prospective homeowner. This brings us back to sit #2. In order to add to our reference portfolio, we
are close to home, just a few miles outside of a small town on a gravel
road. The air is fresh, the neighbors
are more than an arms length away, and the farmland around us is being
harvested daily this time of year. Under
our watch, this time, are three dogs, six cats, and an assortment of winged
insect-like critters (bugs!) for 10 days.
The last of those creatures are not on the official watch list, but seem
to appear as they wish. Oh, and add an
unexpected amphibian to the list. Beth
found a frog on her shirt following the morning feeding routine. I was notified while still in bed, by a shrill
sound I’ve not heard from her before.
So, the two of us, a small band of furry personalities, and a small town
for ten days…what’s not to love?
The townhome purchase has
begun. We offered, they countered, we
pondered, pondered some more, and accepted the counter. We signed more papers under the heading of financing than I think I signed grade
cards back in the day, but we are on track to own two properties in a short
time. Funny thing is, one property is the
limit, so it is on…sell property #1!
While property #2 is proceeding… financing, inspection, appraisal, yada
yada yada… we would like to be working towards selling property #1, but while we
are house sitting in a location our GPS couldn’t even find, the plan is to
plan. Make lists, estimate costs,
collect color samples, bookmarks websites, talk wants, needs, and wishes. Hurry up and wait.
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| The cats come and go as they please. Sometimes the tail wants to stay in when the body goes out. |
All of the animals are very
pleasant in their individual ways. The
cats are generally invisible until they need something and the dogs, although
more visible, are generally sleeping most of the time in plain sight. The one common denominator, or should I say
two, are pee and poop. More times than
not, we are greeted each day with a present (or three) of puddles and piles. Haven’t been able to pin it to just the
felines or the canines and there seems to be no rhyme or reason as to where or
when it happens. So the Waste Rapid
Response Team has gotten pretty good with no shortage of
practice.
So, why not. Not really a question, but a way to look at
things, make decisions, and decide what kind of day you are going to have,
before you have it. You don’t have to go
out and buy a townhome before selling your current residence, house sit a menagerie
of fur bearers, or pursue any number of questionable possibilities before you,
but keep the thought nearby…why not.
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| The beagle is adopted from what must have been a very dark past. He keeps his distance and is normally not approachable. During a small miracle, Beth almost gets to pet him before he takes off for a safer distance. |
My Zen from the (Gravel) Road: House sit #1 brought us hot tub issues.
House sit #2 brought us a garbage disposal issue (easily replaced and working,
thank you very much!). When taking on
new things, new adventures, expect issues to arise. Why not?
They are part of it!
BONUS PICS
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| There is something to be said about a country view. |
