Windshields and Rearview Mirrors

By Gail Leefers Sanson

After growing up in a small town with deep family roots, then spending much of her adult life in larger cities many miles away from that hometown and family; the author and her family relocated back “home” in 2007. Adjustments were made as they found themselves relearning small town life where everyone knows you and most of your business. They built their dream home while their only child was getting ready to leave the nest. The nest will be empty before it is built.
As the author and her family navigated these life-changing and milestone events, she recorded this transition by blogging from 2007-2011. Sometimes difficult. Sometimes humorous. Always an adventure.
This book includes those blogs along with present day commentary by the author as she looks back on those times.
Come peek into her rearview mirror as she looks ahead through the windshield.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Nov 3, 2021
• ISBN: 9781663230317

Gail Leefers Sanson

Gail Leefers Sanson was born and raised in the small town of Carlinville, Illinois where her roots are several generations deep. After high school and some time in college, she eventually worked for a local computer software company. In 1984, she married a fellow Carlinville native who was then living in Peoria. After a couple more moves, she eventually became an IT person within the school system of Rockdale County, Georgia, where she and her husband raised their son. Gail has always enjoyed writing, but until now has only used those talents for personal correspondence and blogging. Her writing style has received many compliments from family and friends. Several have encouraged her to do more with her talents. You will find that she has an easy-to-read writing style along with the occasional humorous remark. Sometimes she can really surprise herself by coming up with the most profound of observations.

Book preview

Copyright © 2021 Gail Leefers Sanson.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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ISBN: 978-1-6632-3030-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6632-3031-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021921045

iUniverse rev. date: 11/02/2021

Contents

PREFACE

NEW BEGINNINGS

FULL MOON

EMPTY NEST

ECHOS

THE WORD IS OUT

DECLUTTER

SIMPLE UPDATE

REAL ESTATE REALISTICS

PACKING OUR EMOTIONS

GETTING CLOSER TO LISTING

PACKING DUST

THE ROLLER COASTER GOES INTO A LOOP...

ROLLER COASTER RULE #1: HOLD ON TIGHT!

GRANDMA’S LAST TEENAGER....

.....WAIT.....

NICE SURPRISE

WEEKEND ONE, DONE.

PHOTOGRAPHS AND MEMORIES

PANIC

DOCTORS

HERE WE GO LOOP DE LOO….

24 HOURS LATER…

LETTING GO…

PHONE CONVERSATION

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY

YOU ARE NOW LEAVING THE TEENAGE YEARS…

GARAGE SALE WEEK

MORE GARAGE SALE STUFF…

WOW, THIS ROOM LOOKS BIG!

A.J.’S 20TH. GARAGE SALE STORIES.

SOME EXCITEMENT IN OUR DAY

2 STEPS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

HALFWAY HOME

SAME OL’ SAME OL’

NOTHING NEW

THE NEXT STEP IS TO SELL RAFFLE TICKETS

THE NOISE IS BACK IN ILLINOIS!

NEWS FROM THE BIG C

THE BURGER KING AT EXIT 114 IN MANCHESTER, TENNESSEE

UNDER CONTRACT!

WHERE’S THE BLOG?

MIDDLE STAGES OF PACKING

BARE WALLS AND ECHOES

BACK HOME

THINGS ARE MOVING RIGHT ALONG…

11 DAYS AND COUNTING DOWN

THE KITCHEN IS CLOSED

CLOSED!

LAST NIGHT ON LITTLE BROOK DRIVE

BUMPS IN THE ROAD

SETTLING INTO LIMBO

WINDOWS, WINDOWS, WINDOWS

HOW DOES A HOMELESS GIRL SPEND MOTHER’S DAY WEEKEND?

MORE READING MATERIAL

THE GOODBYES BEGIN

LIKE A TON OF BRICKS

COUNTING DOWN…

2 DAYS TO GO!

CARLINVILLE!

THE FAMILY IS COMPLETE

A LONG BLOG…

STILL MUDDLING THROUGH ALL THE PAPERWORK

SMALL TOWN LIVING

BORING BLOG…

THINGS ARE SHAPING UP

I WISH I HAD…

MORE DECISIONS, MORE SHOPPING

A FULL TIME JOB.

THE COUNTY FAIR

SLEEPY SATURDAY

MEN, SIDING, AND BUMPS IN THE ROAD.

DRYWALLERS, AGITATORS AND THE GATEWAY ARCH

THE HOME STRETCH?

PAINTING

WE AIN’T DONE YET. MOTRIN AND ADVIL NEEDED.

DOWN TO THE NITTY GRITTY

LAST NIGHT AT THE RENTAL?

WE’RE IN!

FIRST FULL DAY OF UNPACKING

BOXES, BOXES, BOXES…

AN UNSETTLED LIFE.

PICTURES

GENE AUTRY TURNS 100

JACK OFFICIALLY RETIRED

BRANSON!

A FEW MORE BABY STEPS…

THE FORTRESS AND SMALL-TOWN STUFF

WOOD BURNING STOVE

GARTERS, PRIVACY AND MY JOB

BACK IN BUSINESS

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL

DON’T FRET, WE’RE STILL HERE

ILLINOIS WINTER HAS ALMOST ARRIVED

SNOW

NO TRAVELS!

POST HOLIDAYS

HAPPY 2008

BLOG BREAK

BUSY WEEK

MINI UPDATES

FAMILY FUN

COMPRESSOR IS TO REFRIGERATOR WHAT TRANSMISSION IS TO WASHING MACHINE

BASEMENTS

VISITORS FROM THE SOUTH

QUIET DAYS...

MID-FEBRUARY STUFF...

ALL ADULTS NOW....

GEORGIA ON MY MIND..... NOT!

NOTES FROM GEORGIA

MORE FROM GA....

LAST NIGHT IN GEORGIA

BACK HOME...

SNOW ON EASTER

LAST WEEK OF MARCH...

GEORGIA FRIENDS VISIT

SPEAKING OF MONDAY MORNING....

SHAKE, RATTLE AND ROLL....

MUSIC, LIFE, DEEP THOUGHTS

GARAGE SALE WEEKEND

GARAGE SALE UPDATE

NOT MUCH TO SAY….

SHORT AND SWEET ON A SUNDAY

DELILAH

BASEMENT - DONE!

THE OTHER BASEMENT ROOM

ONE YEAR.

A.J.’S ANNIVERSARY

IF IT’S BROKE, FIX IT.

JUST ANOTHER TUESDAY.

BASKETLAND... HERE WE COME!

BASKETLAND

UPDATE

STAY WITH ME TODAY, GOD.

CHANGES

BACK BLOGGING....

DAY ONE WITH THE MUNCHKINS

FRIDAY IN STUDY HALL...

SOFTBALL AND STUFF

CHICAGO AND ONE YEAR LATER....

AIN’T BLOGGED IN A WHILE....

FAMILY REUNION

FRONT PORCH INSERT

CHARLIE

RAMBLINGS....

TYPICAL? AUTUMN WEEKEND.....

$$ LANDSCAPING $$

I FORGOT IT WAS THURSDAY...

THE WEEKEND...

ANOTHER MONDAY....

PEORIA

LIFE’S GREAT PEOPLE AND INFLUENCES

THANKSGIVING WEEK

A THANKFUL THANKSGIVING

CHRISTMAS CARDS AND PT

THANKS, WHITEY.

ADULT LIFE

GOOD TIMES

BECOMING LEFT-HANDED

ON THE MEND

HAPPY 2009

SIMPLE PLEASURES

LANDON PAUL

DEAR A.J.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This is for Jack, A.J., Abby and Reilly

My family.

They are my everything.

I also want to acknowledge with great love,

Kelley

Bill

Sissy (Nancy)

and the many family, friends, and co-workers

who have blessed us with their support, friendship, and love.

PREFACE

The series of events that triggered our 2007 retirement and move back home really began in late 2004 when there were rumors of major restructuring and possible layoffs within AT&T. Even with his nearly 32 years at that time, my husband, Jack, really wasn’t sure if he’d survive this layoff. But then, he always felt that way with every prior restructuring and layoff. This time I checked with a dear friend of ours, who you will meet in some of these pages, and his response surprised me. This layoff was unlike any previous ones and he didn’t know either what would happen.

Our background: Jack and I were both from Carlinville, Illinois, population just under 6000. We grew up 10 blocks and 7 years apart. Our paths crossed one evening in August 1981. He was 31 and I was about to turn 24. That meeting resulted in a friendship, then a relationship and finally, love. We married in June 1984. I left my job at a computer software company and moved to Peoria where he was in his 12th year with AT&T at the time. Later that same year, he was promoted and transferred to Chicago. Four months after our wedding, we were in a new home in the Chicago suburbs. I went back into the work force in January 1985 and worked for a couple of years until our son, A.J., was born in February 1987. I became a stay-at-home mom. In 1990 Jack accepted a transfer to Conyers, Georgia which is 30 miles east of Atlanta. We lived there for 17 years and Jack continued his career with AT&T. When A.J. was in 3rd grade I began working at his school as a computer lab manager and eventually became the technology support specialist for that school. I remained a technology support person for that school and eventually two other schools over a 12 year period until our 2007 move to Illinois. When Jack retired in 2007, he had been with AT&T for 34 years and 10 months.

Back to the possible layoffs of 2004-2005. Jack and I talked about the possibility of moving back home to Carlinville should the layoff include him. At that time, I’d been working in the school system for about 9 years. I suggested that if he’d need to find a new job, why not find one in Illinois. My rationale was that since AT&T was the reason we were in Georgia and it was now possible that it may no longer be a part of our lives, why would we stay? Why would we continue to live over 600 miles from our families? I could find another job, too. I had many typing and secretarial skills and felt I’d find something as well. At that time, our son was in his senior year of high school. He had always loved being around our families in Illinois. While he was considering going to a Junior College for a couple of years in Georgia, his goal was to transfer to a college in Illinois to finish his degree. Even though he’d grown up so far from his cousins and family, we’d spent all our Christmases in Carlinville and always went for a summer visit, so he was very attached to our families. His interest was Mass Communications and we realized that someday that career path could take him anywhere in the USA for a job. If we were in the middle of the country, it would be easy to go wherever he was and just as convenient for him to come home to us sometimes and easily see all the family in one place. We would be settled into a place that we would likely never leave. We’d be home.

When we came to Carlinville that Christmas in late 2004, we wandered around town and looked at the housing options but didn’t share any of our plans with our families. There was no need just yet to have them worry about a possible layoff or get excited at the prospect of us moving back. In early 2005, the layoff did not happen. But the thoughts of moving back to Illinois were in our heads and we realized when we were ready to retire, we might just follow that path.

That summer in 2005 we made a trip to Carlinville as we’d done for 15 prior summers. Again, we looked around, but again said nothing to our families. Jack’s brother, Don, and nephew, David, were farmers and on that visit, they shared that they were looking at purchasing some land about 3 miles East of town. They had rented that ground for farming for several years and now the landlord wanted to sell this parcel of land. Some of the acreage was wooded and they planned to sell in plots of 5 acres or more for potential homeowners while they continued to farm the rest. There would be 3-4 plots using that range of acreage and they would be picky about who they sold to. That caught our attention. The thought of well water did not appeal to me, but then brother Don said there was a rural water line that went through there. Now, I was sold. Again, Jack and I said nothing for another day or two. We drove out and looked at the area and the land in question and we made the decision. This was it. This was too much of a sign to ignore. We finally shared with brother Don what we’d been thinking. After that, we shared this news with my parents, my two brothers and their families and a few friends. As you can imagine, they were all thrilled.

By Christmas 2005, Don and David had closed on their purchase of the land. They had the surveying done for us and we selected the location we wanted. This area had a bit more than 12 acres, but we didn’t want it all. He’d hold back 5 acres on the corner for someone else someday and we ended up with our little bit of heaven of 7.33 acres. We didn’t know if we’d be moving in a year or two, but the process had begun.

Around the beginning of the school year 2006-2007, we knew this was the year to go. The housing marking was beginning to crash a bit, so it was time to jump. We began to downsize and purge to get the house ready to go on the market in early 2007. I’d finish the school year, and when the house sold, Jack would put in for his retirement. A.J. was finishing his second year of junior college and would maybe be ready to transfer to Illinois for college. We knew this would be bittersweet. We’d made great friends in Georgia. We were there for 17 years. In those 17 years, A.J. grew from a robust 3-year-old to nearly 20 years old, all in the blink of an eye. But it was time to go home.

That 628-mile move is the story you’ll find in these pages. In those few years of transition from 2007-2011, I created a blog. In this book, I have included many excerpts from that blog. At first the blog was a way to keep family in Illinois posted on how things were going in the preparation and sale of our house. After the move, it became a way for our Georgia friends to keep track of our house building process and of our settling into Midwestern life in our small, rural town among our families once again. During this move we also dealt with the heart ache of slowly letting go of our son as he continued college in preparation to head out into the real world.

Monday, January 1, 2007

NEW BEGINNINGS

I created this blog about a year and a half ago and never used it. I thought it was something I’d do, but I just never got around to it.

But I decided today was a good start. Jack and I have a lot to do in the next several months as we plan to move back to Illinois. We are both leaving jobs behind, leaving our son behind at college – maybe. And we’ll build our dream home. So yes, there is a lot to do over the next several months.

My horoscope said today: You’ll venture outside your comfort zone this year, much to your delight. I hope that last part is right.

Tonight I had a dry run as A.J. gets ready to move to Milledgeville for college. He and I are driving down tomorrow morning. My car is already full, and we’ll finish loading his truck in the morning before we go. I’m glad he wants me to go with him. For one thing, he’ll need my extra car space. But also, I look forward to seeing his apartment. I’ll set up his kitchen, his computer, and help him make his bed, hang up the shower curtain and his clothes. I’m sure there will be a WalMart run in there and maybe I’ll take him and his roommate out to lunch or supper.

However, he won’t be gone long. He plans to be back Saturday to get his final paycheck.

Then, over the next several weeks, it will be Jack and my turn to get ready to move. We’ll have lots of boxes to pack and a lot of decluttering as we get the house ready to put on the market.

Therefore, I decided to exhume my blog as a fun and hopefully entertaining way of keeping family and friends posted on our progress.

Stay tuned....

Our son, A.J., had decided in his last semester of Junior College classes in Georgia that he wanted to leave the local Junior College and go to college in Milledgeville, Georgia. He had many friends who attended college there. We realized that we had to let him go. If he didn’t go now, he would definitely go there in the fall. We were hoping by the fall, he would decide to transfer to college in Illinois. He had always wanted to transfer to Illinois, but in the last 18 months since high school graduation, he had really become more attached to Georgia and his friends there.

There were two colleges in Milledgeville. A.J. made the decision too late to get into Georgia College and State University for the Spring semester, as was his first choice. However, there was also Georgia Military College. This was a two-year Junior College environment. We realized this semester was going to be more about growth than academics for him. So, he went to Georgia Military College with our support and blessing. He would live with a friend in a college apartment complex that served both colleges. It was hard for Jack to let go of his buddy. It was difficult for me as well, but the process of getting the house ready to put on the market and keeping the messes cleaned up kept me busy. His absence made that much easier for me. Although, this was still a major heartache as he was leaving the nest for the first time. We had discussed his options going forward and all agreed that he should apply for the Fall 2007 semester at Georgia College and State University where he could remain in Milledgeville, but he would also apply to Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, Illinois. His interest was radio and TV broadcasting and both universities had good programs for that. I felt that he would be accepted in both places and then he would need to make a choice. But he would have several months ahead to decide.

Tuesday, January 2, 2007

FULL MOON

It’s a full moon. Can you believe that? I took my child to his first college apartment on a full moon. I also made sure he had a full belly before I left and as I recall, the cart at WalMart was quite full, too.

I’m excited for him. The apartment is very nice and seems to be a new concept in college living. This is not associated directly with either of the colleges in town, but a private apartment complex for college students. The apartment has a common living room, kitchen, and laundry closet to share, then each student has a private bedroom and bathroom suite with their own separate key for that. This apartment has three-bedroom suites. One is not occupied yet, and therefore it is locked. It could still be rented to a third person at some time. I enjoyed getting the kitchen set up for them. I set up his computer and internet access, helped him make his bed and left the shower curtain half hanging because I figured the taller of the two of us could finish that. The next few weeks will be busy for him as he settles into a new school, a new routine and hopefully, he can find a new part time job.

Jack is doing fine without his buddy. He has a bowl of popcorn and the Blues on TV, so he’s adjusting okay. One night without A.J. around here isn’t much different than any other night.

I told Jack that this will be harder on him than me. After all, I get the perks. Less laundry. Less mess in the kitchen. Less laundry. A more reliable routine for dinnertime. And did I mention less laundry?

Although A.J. will be home Saturday to pick up his paycheck. I pointed out that I could get his check and deposit it for him, but he said he’d just come home and get it. I have a few things to get ready for him as he and I discussed things he’d still need from his room. But for this evening it’s time for me to chill out a bit. Tomorrow I go back to work after a long, wonderful holiday.

I’m leaving out the blog I created on January 4, 2007, which is when I explained more about why this move, since that was covered in the Preface. Our family in Illinois was aware of our plans to move, but in Georgia, it was just a very few close friends who knew. Jack hadn’t shared with the powers that be on his job and I certainly hadn’t share them with mine. At that time, only the people who were aware of this move knew about this blog. I felt it was safe to begin sharing stories about our moving plans on the blog. But, one afternoon, there was a conversation where I almost told my school technology specialist, Joe. He and I were working on something and as we finished it and I began to leave his office, he said Have I told you lately that I really appreciate you? I just smiled. I couldn’t look him in the eye. I just said, I’m sure you have. Then he said, I really appreciate you. I just shyly looked down, smiled and said I know. I appreciate you, too. I turned the corner and went to my office. I planned to tell him and my principal, Dr. Watts, that week about my plans, but the day before this conversation my horoscope said, Hold back for a moment and wait for the dust to settle. So, I decided to put it off until Monday or Tuesday. Although I almost said to him on that day, I hope you still appreciate me after I tell you what I have to tell you. But I waited for the dust to settle.

Saturday, January 06, 2007

EMPTY NEST

Today we got our new house plans from Builder Bill. The roof is too high of a pitch. He alluded to that, so we hope it can come down. There is a long boring wall along the front of the house for Jack’s big garage. I hope some landscaping will break that up. Frank, the architect, forgot that the door that goes to the patio was moved from the living room to the kitchen. Patty, the kitchen design lady, and I moved the door between the kitchen and dining room a bit to make way for my mixer garage in the corner. Hopefully these are all changes and modifications that we can make easily.

Now to get this one ready to sell. I’ve cleaned out a lot of stuff from A.J.’s room. I’ve packed up some things and placed other things in a box for the garage sale and left other stuff that he may eventually take to Milledgeville. I hope his room is the worse of what lies ahead. There is a ton of stuff in there. Our goal is to have the house ready to put on the market by mid-February. There’s a lot to do.

It’s time to introduce you to Builder Bill. Bill is a local farmer who was born and raised in Carlinville. He is also a talented woodworker and builder. His dad was great at both crafts as well. Bill had built on additions to my parent’s house, to Jack’s brother’s house and to Jack’s niece’s house. He had also built a few houses in town. He was wanting to get out of the renovation and house building business but agreed to take on our project. Mostly because he knew Jack would be there every day to help and that Jack’s brother and nephew would be there as much as they could. In other words, he would not have to put together a full crew. He had a couple of guys who helped him with the woodworking business, so they would be on board, too. One of them farmed on his own and is a talented carpenter. The other helped Bill with his farming and was a retired licensed electrician. This crew became known as the DAF crew. Dumb Ass Farmers.

Sunday, January 7, 2007

ECHOS

A.J.’s room has an echo now that most things are off the wall. It is ready to spackle and paint. However, I have the other 2 rooms upstairs to get ready, so we’ll wait on the spackle and paint and do them all together.

He called us about 7:00 and said he hadn’t talked to us today, so he just thought he’d check in. How sweet. I hope he plans to call every day. That one-minute phone conversation does this mom and dad’s hearts some good. He’s heading into his first full week of classes at Georgia Military College.

Good night.

As I said before, very few of our close friends in Georgia knew that Jack and I had decided to make this move. Up until the summer of 2006 we really didn’t know if we’d move in 2007 or 2008. But that summer we decided. Since I worked in the school system our moving plans fit into the school calendar. We would put the house on the market early in the year, with the hope that it would sell, and we’d be out and ready to move around Memorial Day when school was out. Jack would also put in for his retirement around that time. In my next blog entry, you’ll see that soon the word gets out and spreads quickly.

Monday, January 8, 2007

THE WORD IS OUT

Oh my goodness. What a day.

In the school system this is the time of year that Principal’s send to teachers and staff the letter of intent. In other words, what do you want to do next year? Same job? Different grade level? Different subject? Will you be gone? I received that letter today. I had already decided that I needed to tell my principal and my technology specialist today. I did both. My principal was very nice. He was quite congratulatory about the whole thing and wished us well in our move. Although he said he will certainly miss me. The technology specialist that I worked closely with was speechless. Remember, he said just last week that he really appreciated me. I didn’t know quite where to leave him with his thoughts, but I promised him I would leave good notes and I had in fact already done that for last week’s annual dreaded state inventory. Both were interested in the person I suggested as a replacement. Now I need to get my official letter of resignation turned in which will help them in the long run as it will speed up the process of them finding that replacement and getting them set up for next year.

All this makes the move so real. This is really happening.

Funny thing and funny timing story: About three hours after I told them both, I was sitting with my lunch group and one of the ladies said she had talked to A.J.’s roommate’s mom who told her that we were moving. She said, I told her ‘no’ I didn’t think you were moving. But she was very sure you were. So, are you moving? Since I had already told the two most important people in the building, I confessed. I’m not sure what I would have said to her if I hadn’t told them. Perfect timing?

So now the word was out, and it spread quite quickly. Again, it all is becoming so real and a bit overwhelming.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

DECLUTTER

Declutter. There’s a word. Same as unclutter? I keep putting off both.

I’ve just chilled this week as I ease into the thought of packing all the stuff that Jack’s been stressing about packing for a year.

But I have a three-day weekend ahead. Jack will just be working or sleeping, so he’ll be out of my hair. A.J. is in Milledgeville, so I won’t have to tend to his needs. I can just focus on decluttering. And we have a lot of that to do. As my cleaning lady told me tonight, you have a lot of sports memorabilia and just a lot of things and mementos. Gee, ya think?

The real estate lady is coming on Sunday to tell us what else we need to do to get ready. Hopefully in about 3-4 weeks I will be ready and we’ll have the For Sale sign out. Seems like a lot of hurry up and wait.

So tonight, I’m just enjoying the lull before the storm.

I need to stop here and introduce you to a very special friend of ours, since he is mentioned in the next blog entry below. Our Bill. This is not Builder Bill. This is our friend, Bill. When we moved to Georgia in 1990, Bill had also moved with AT&T from the Philadelphia area. Bill was single, a couple of years older than me and he quickly became our closest, dearest friend. To A.J., he was Uncle Bill. He came to almost all his little league and roller hockey games. All the other parents just assumed he really was an uncle. It was funny how most assumed he was my brother, not Jack’s. I guess because of the banter that we had it seemed like we’d known each other our whole lives. He acquired a very Southern nickname from us, Uncle Billy Joe Bob Bubba. To this day, he still signs cards to us with a simple UBJBB.

About a year prior to our moving back to Carlinville, Bill had retired from AT&T and moved back to his home in Philadelphia. I sometimes think that’s why we all understood each other so well. We had similar stories in that all our families were in one area and that was always home to us. A few years after the move, I told Bill how I don’t know how I would have ever raised A.J. and Jack without him. He missed his calling and could have been a great family counselor. Bill replied that he didn’t know what he would have done without us. I never realized that before. He had a hard time leaving his family in 1990 and felt so lucky to have found us. We were family. We still are. I have no doubts that God placed us in each other’s lives for a reason. When A.J. was married in the Fall of 2019, Bill read the Prayers of the Faithful during the service.

Saturday, January 13, 2007

SIMPLE UPDATE

Yesterday, A.J. and his roommate came into town for a few hours. His roomie had to pick up some things at home. We took them to Ruby Tuesday for supper before they headed back.

I’ve spent today decluttering the middle room upstairs. This is also the bonus room of the house with a lot of sports memorabilia. I also had Jack help me climb out in the eaves to get some boxes and see what’s out there. We piled all that in the guest room and it is now a disaster. The real estate lady, Carol is coming tomorrow. She’ll have a stroke when she sees all that mess. I hope to get back up there this evening to just organize it a bit. I don’t know how we are going to avoid using a storage facility to handle all the boxes from my decluttering. But we’ll see. It will be nice if we can get it all back in the eaves or in closets so it will remain out of sight for showings.

We are using the same moving company that our friend, Bill used when he moved back to Philadelphia last year. He was very pleased with them and they are quite reasonable. They are coming Wednesday to give us an estimate. Bill packed everything himself. I plan to pack most everything, but I think I’m going to have the moving company finish some of the packing when the time comes. I’m afraid I won’t pack some things well enough.

Speaking of when the time comes, Jack said he’s had nightmares about moving all this stuff and now I’m having nightmares about what we will do if the house doesn’t sell?

I guess we’ll see how our realtor, Carol, feels after looking the place over. She may suggest some kerosene and a match.

Our house in Conyers, GA was adjacent to land owned by the Monastery of the Holy Spirit. That meant that it was extremely unlikely that anything would be built behind our house. We were at the end of a cul-de-sac. Although we had neighbors on either side and up the street a bit, we were very secluded. All great location amenities and we knew that would help, as indicated in my next blog entry.

Sunday, January 14, 2007

REAL ESTATE REALISTICS

We met with the real estate lady today. The real part must stand for realistic. Her suggested dollars were a little less than we thought. We have more to offer than the other houses in the subdivision, but the bottom line is, that doesn’t matter when the comparisons are made. Although she does feel we can start with the price we were thinking, and she thinks the house will sell for sure. But the final price is still a variable. The cul-de-sac in front and the monastery behind us are both key selling points. Brick with aluminum siding trim, new kitchen upgrades, all good. So, we’ll see. There is still a lot of packing up and getting ready, but hopefully in about three weeks we’ll be ready to list it.

Jack and I have discussed the finances involved in building. Let’s hope our estimates there are not too far in the other direction. We are throwing everything up in the air this year and hope it all lands in the right places.

My stomach turns when I think about all the documents and paperwork that lie ahead. This house has been our home. It has a heart. And now, to prove it worthy for someone else to make it their home, we must prove that every detail, every outlet, every piece of lumber and each brick is perfect. And beyond all that, the only real reason this house will sell is not because the mechanics are in order and therefore, it is a good, durable working house, but because someone must walk in here and just love it. Ironic, isn’t it? There’s a