Be Careful What You Wish For... (Monday Madness)

Last week I penned a blog called 'A House is Not a Home' in which I outlined how we had outgrown our current house and was starting the long haul search for a new one.  Why long haul?   Well with J1 and his special needs of a house that would suit his disabilities and equipment storage requirements, finding something suitable is far from easy.  I also wistfully wrote about having more family living space and as an extra bonus a utility area and room for a dining table.  A pipe dream.

So I thought.

Once we had found an estate agent that actually grasped the concept of our predicament of having certain things within a house for J1 (and believe me, many will listen and then send you a whole bucketful of unsuitable properties anyway) he sent us a few details to review and they good like they were worth a look.  The first of the 'possibles' we wanted to jump all over, it was a bungalow for a start (quite rare in the size we need) but we both had a nagging feeling that something was not going to allow us to have that property and that was right, another agent had already started the letting process with some tenants.

I was disheartened.  I know how long it took to find this house and suitable ones just are not in abundance.  To have found one so good was a long shot to start with so to lose it was disappointing.  I was not in good spirits when the Estate Agents office sent through another two.  Hubby noted one was a house (so I was quite dismissive to start with 'Hmpf, great a house, unless it has got multiple reception rooms [so J1 can have one as a downstairs bedroom] and still give us extra space then it's not worth even bothering to look - more hmpfing and grumbling') and one was another bungalow... hmmm o.k worth firing up the laptop to look.

I could immediately see that the bungalow was not going to be suitable (with a 'here we go' - months of looking and not even going to view them), as already mentioned, with most bungalows it wasn't going to be big enough.  I thought I would glance at the house details quickly so I could formally dismiss it and we could continue with the search, the Estate Agent had mentioned that he may have a suitable property coming onto the books in January.

As I nonchalantly flicked open the details of the house, did my eyes deceive me I wondered?  This property looked like it could work, I felt a little flutter of excitement, because not only did it look like it had a suitable 'reception' room that would work for J1, but it would give us more family room, a fair bit more and it was a 'period' property, with bags and bags of character (I use this as a 'I know I have hit 30 and 'grown up hood' because I am now loving 'period' properties with 'character'!)

On viewing day I got more excited as the time ticked by to go and see it.  Hubby was less enthused but I just knew I was going to love it.  And love it I did.  We spent time viewing and then working out logistics and then viewing again.  I expect I was an Estate Agents dream, I couldn't hide my excitement.  Once Hubby was on board, we entered the scary phase of negotiating rent and putting in our application to the landlord.  I hate that bit and envision everything possible going wrong, I suppose like for buyers being gazumped, or the chain breaking.

I am still in disbelief that we have managed to find and secure somewhere new to live so quickly.  And thus comes the stressful part... packing and moving right before Christmas.  Madness?  I think so.  I struggle to get the normal day to day stuff done in between school runs and the entertainment committee that J2 requires to get him through the day.  Where I am going to get the opportunity to pack up an entire house, an entire full of stuff house, is a mystery to me right now.  Days are ticking by and I have only just bought up my first lot of bubble wrap.  My aim is to try and do it little and often, a cup here, a drawer there and hope for the best.

But once that is done, all those things I mentioned as a wish list in 'A House is Not a Home', the space for a dining table, a utility room, more room for J1's equipment to live without us all walking into and being covered in bruises, a nicer area to live will be real for us all.  And for that I am very thankful.  And I apologise to anyone that may feel the wrath of the stress of the next month!

To a new home and an exciting new year.