When I was a little girl, my grandparents lived in a home that I like to say, helped raise me. It wasn't a large home, my grandparents had more stuff than room at times, (there is always the story about things hitting you in the head when opening a cabinet :-0), lots of plants in the room that was known as the sun porch, a backyard filled with an abundance of vegetables in a garden that was grown with love, and basement that my brother and cousins' tapped into our creativeness and put on plays and shows for our parents and grandparents to humor us and watch, with a 25 cent charge of course. The best part of this home though, was the love that filled the walls.
As time would have it, my grandparents moved and life moved on. I "grew up" moved from New Jersey, to Georgia, to New Jersey and landed in Pennsylvania where I have been for the last 16 years. Altho my addresses changed numerous times, the one thing that never did was, every time I rode past that little home in New Jersey, it wasn't without me saying, "I love that home", "if that home ever goes up for sale, I am going to buy it." After I moved to Pennsylvania, within two years, that home went up for sale. The timing wasn't right as we had just settled into a new school district, a new home, a new chapter, and new way. Fast forward, the kids have grown, moved out, moved on and I was left in this big ole home that truthfully, raised us all, but knew that the time was coming near that it was time to begin looking. I stalked Zillow like a crazy ex-girlfriend and just wasn't coming up with the place that I wanted to call home.
Fall is always a busy time for the shop, new inventory, getting ready for the holiday season and of course, all of the festivals. Garlic fest was the first of two and getting ready for that and participating didn't leave me much time for Zillow stalking. Two days after Garlicfest had ended, my oldest son and I were on our way to my Mom's to pick up some Halloween decorations for the shop and as we were nearing her home, I decided that it would be a good time to check in with what was now up for sale in the home department. Just a pause here to say, my son was driving..., and as I went on Zillow, guess which house was the first one that popped up? You guessed it, the home that my grandparent's lived in, the home that some of my favorite childhood memories held, yes, one of the houses that built me (to quote Miranda Lambert).
In a complete state of excitement, not being able to breathe or speak, I couldn't believe my eyes. At this point, my son, asked if he needed to pull over as he thought there was something wrong. Looking back, it was actually kind of funny! My response, "Grammy's house is for sale, OMG, Grammy's house is for sale!" Upon arriving at my Mom's, I made a few contacts, and within three hours, I was on my way to walk back into my memories.
Now as you are all aware, the real estate market is pretty wild right now and the bidding wars are ridiculous. I had already decided that I wasn't about to participate in any of that and once upon seeing the home, I put in my offer and within a day, it was accepted. No bidding wars, no we can't do this, just a simple, "your offer has been accepted". An, on November 18, 2021, I became the owner of the home that I said, I was going to be...someday.
I am excited to see where this next chapter takes me as the end of one era has ended, to enable this new one to begin. The memories that encase these walls will be the magic that I know, will get me through some of the stressful times, busy times and restful times. My story is no different than many others, and the reason for this share is to remind each and everyone of you that when things don't happen as we hope they would or when we thought they needed to, they will unfold at exactly the perfect time.
I am overly thankful and blessed in the powers that be and the true belief in dreams!
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