What Was That About Risky Dreams?

The view now

I've thought frequently about tearing down this (albeit small) blog and starting fresh. But I won't. Even the terrible parts of the journey help us get to our destination.

I avoided updating for a long time because that big lovely farmhouse in the last post lead to a summer of anxiety and misery like we've never experienced before. It felt too good to be true the moment I found the ad, and I was correct. The seller twisted the contract, threatened us repeatedly, and eventually (due to maliciously combining the twisting and threatening) took our earnest money--our savings--and forced us out of the contract. Meanwhile, gossip started to come out of the woodworks that she had done this to numerous buyers. This was at the end of August.

Meanwhile, we'd sold our home within two weeks of putting it on the market, for a profit.

We had a small nest egg from our house, and nowhere to go. We lived with my parents for two and half months (note: I also taught 25 credit hours last semester). Andy and I are incredibly fortunate to have the families we do, who were there for us throughout every bit of the nightmare, and for the aftermath.

There was nothing on the market that was remotely what we wanted for our next homestead--after all, we hadn't planned to move so soon and our budget was not where it needed to be for the old farmhouse and five - ten acres we wanted. After a few weeks of no success, we finally told our realtor that we would throw in the towel and start looking at newer ranch homes with very little acreage. It was all we would be able to afford.

Twenty-four hours after we made that call, another call was made. My mom got a call from an acquaintance from their church, directing us toward their home, which they needed to sell. An old farmhouse. Eight acres. The area we wanted. For exactly the price we sold our house for.

That is our home now. I still can't quite believe that it happened, but it did. We have our farmhouse and acreage... a barn, shed, pond, woods, a creek... it's ours. The moment we decided we could do without our dream, we got it.

We spent November and December renovating the inside, and we're itching for springtime to get our hands in the dirt outside. We have fences that need to be put up, a shed that will be transformed into a chicken coop/goat barn, gardens to be tilled, a tin roof and siding to be painted... and of course seeds to be started and chicks to be warmed.

The old stone house is nearby, and still for sale. I still fantasize about it sometimes, and then inwardly giggle at the insanity of our even going to look at it last spring. But like I said then, and am living proof of now--we dreamed, we risked, and we're here, exactly where we need to be.