this "new" old house

Lynmarie and I are going on 13 years of marriage now. Not really a milestone as opposed to 15 or 20 years and hardly the marathon of 50 or more. But we are still together and things are really looking better for us. We have had our share of joy and pain. I bring joy . . . and if she reads this I'll have pain. I guess that we are pretty much like other committed couples.

We have come to an important moment in our marriage; we are buying our first house. We have been renters for so long. It's weird to now be buying a house. We have spent months and looked at about 75 homes. We have placed bids on four homes. We have been outbid on two. One went for 40 thousand over asking price. Go figure. We have dropped out of one deal for circumstances beyond even this blog. And now we are finally buying. We are through attorney review, had a house inspection, septic inspection, negotiated price, signed papers to the roofline. Now we wait for "the closing day".

I have noticed a big change in Lynmarie. She seems to feel a little more secure in knowing that we will be "here" for a long time. Our kids will have a yard (2 acres!), a place to say "this is where I grew up", a place to have friends over. I get to cut grass and rake 2 acres.

A house to passers-by but a home to us. A place to mark the kids growth. A place for extended family and friends to dine. A place to be from. Our place. "Hey, why don't you come over to our place to . . .".

And God willing, a place to celebrate more marriage milestones and even a marathon. And who knows, maybe a place to celebrate three more weddings and births of grandbabys.

For now . . .