Was Our House Ever Going to Sell?

“Hi, Gale,” mom greeted me over the phone. “We're coming down today to meet with the people who put an offer on the house.”

I was excited to see my parents, but not thrilled with the possibility that they might sell the house. These people had made an offer $300,000 under what the house was worth, and I hated to see dad sell too quickly. Butt dad was tired of waiting, and ready to sell, no matter what. I didn't really blame him. The house had been on the market for a year and a half. Still, it just didn't feel right.

“Something else,” mom hesitated before she continued. “Um, I talked to Sharon this morning, and Colton's boss has told him he can move to Snowflake and work from there, so they are coming up here. They want to be here before school starts.”

That was a surprise, but not really a shock. I had wondered how my youngest sister was going to take being left down in Gilbert while the rest of us moved to Snowflake.

“Sharon went looking for apartments this morning with Linda,” mom continued, “and they found a three bedroom one that is under $500 a month! That's a great deal, but they can't qualify for it because they make too much money. They thought, though, that if the house sells and you and Moe have to move, you would like it. I guess Sharon and Colton are going to move in with us until they build themselves a house up here.”

Now, that was a shock! Ever since dad put the house on the market I'd known we could live with mom and dad in Snowflake if we needed to, until we built a house on our land up there. It had been my backup plan, and given me sense of security, despite the uncertainty we were living in.

Mom and dad came in a few hours later. Dad was anxious, and spent the day walking around the house, picking up little pieces of whatever, and cleaning everything, although it was already perfect because I had cleaned that morning. But living makes little messes, I guess, and dad wanted everything to be perfect.

“Why don't we paint your kitchen,” he'd suggested when he first walked in. “It's getting really old looking.

“Dad, we can't paint it now, when people are coming this afternoon. It will make everything smell. Anyway, they're not coming to look at the house anymore. They've already seen it. They just want to try to talk you into their new offer.”

My reasoning didn't help much, dad was too keyed up. Mom, on the other hand, sat on the couch in her kitchen and read the new Harry Potter book. I couldn't decide what I was supposed to be doing. Just act normal, I guess, but it was driving me crazy!

In the end , the offer the people made was not acceptable, thank goodness. I did end up painting the kitchen again, though, and the girls bedrooms, and I kept the house really clean all the time. Still, I felt like I was sitting on pins and needles, waiting to see what was going to happen.

I registered the girls for school the first of August, like normal, and wondered where they would be by the end of the year. My brother-in-law's boss decided to have someone else cover the area including Snowflake, so they registered their kids in Gilbert, too. Then, on the first day of school, the boss called and told them they could move to Snowflake, after all. They went and took their kids our of school, packed their beds, and drove up to Snowflake so their kids could start school there the next day.

I didn't know what to think. Especially when a real estate lady called me that afternoon and asked if she could bring some people over to look at the house. It turned out to be the grandson of one of my Grandpa Russell's good friends. They were very interested in the house, dad was really excited, and I wondered what on earth was going to happen, now that my sister's family was living in mom and dad's house. Where would we go?

A few days later I broke down. I'd been outside working all morning. It had taken hours to cut back the blackberry bushes and rake up the branches. They were so thorny, and it was so hot, that I thought I would die. It was really hot, being the middle of August, and we'd been having record heat for the last few days. By the time I was through mowing between the bushes I was beat, and I still had to mow around the fruit trees and the front yard, and then water everything.

I loved living on two acres, but it took a lot of work to keep everything nice. It was noon before I finished, and I was really in a state. I guess it was mostly the heat, but I was so cross and angry and upset I was actually crying by the time I got in the house. This had been a hard summer, what with not knowing when the house would sell and what we would do if it did. I had been dealing with it, but I guess the stress had been building inside of me until I finally broke. I cried and cried as I showered, and shouted and stamped my feet and had a really good hissy fit since there was no one around to hear me.

I finally ran out of steam, and then was so tired I laid down on the bed and actually went to sleep for a couple of hours. It was wonderful. When I woke up I felt so much better. Maybe crying is actually good for us. It sure was for me that day.