I left you hanging. Didn’t mean to do that. My life seems full of loose ends these days but I am determined to snip and tie and otherwise resolve the dangling details. In that spirit, I owe you an update on the move. (Or, The Move as it resonates in my head.)

I have not, as I predicted I would not, melted down. I realized, thanks in large part to my sister’s wisdom and tolerance for my craziness, that what was making me feel most crazy was not the idea of our house listing date/potential move being pushed out.. again. That was not a thrill, certainly. I’d leave here tomorrow if we could. But no, what had me crazy was the sudden panic that yet another delay, for whatever the reason, was a sure sign that we’ll never get out of here.

I had no confidence that waiting until spring meant that we would actually list the house and move in the spring. We’ve done the “six more months, another year” dance too many times already.

You see, time keeps dashing forward. My oldest is nine. NINE! His childhood is moving along swiftly, with no regard to my desire for things to change. And maybe it shouldn’t bother me that he’s forming idelible impressions of the world based on New England life, but it does. It bothers me a lot. (Again, with apologies all around. I know I’m a cad.)

So the sense that our plan for leaving will keep slipping forward and never come to fruition when it is thisclose just makes me nuts.

That explains the crazy. Now, what did I do about it, once I was enlightened? I took a deep breath and deep stock of our options. Then I wrote out a plan for us and sent it to Dex. He agreed that it sounded reasonable and good, and we symbolically shook on it. And then I put it out of my mind and turned to the task of enjoying the balance of the summer.

Really!

The Plan

Our hope is that by spring, Dex’s company will allow him to relocate and work remotely, with probably a fair amount of travel. Regardless, we will list our house immediately after the holidays. Once it sells, we’re out of here. (Yes, I’m being fuzzy about the work stuff, but you understand.) I’d love to be able to leave by April, but we could hold out here as long as July. That’s my deadline. School issues - and my own sanity - make it extremely undesirable (as in, hell no) to stay past then.

This is why I have been out kneeling in the dirt planting crocus bulbs. Winter is brutal here, so any bit of color or hint of life come late winter will be a huge advantage once the hoards of prospective buyers come tromping up our walk.

Hoards.