The last few weeks in our household have been hairy, to say the least! After twenty-seven years in the military, my husband is preparing to retire from the Army. We have had an amazing run and will forever be thankful for the experiences we have had and the incredible people we have met along the journey. We are both a little unsure what "civilian life" will be like but we are trusting it will be just as wonderful! Nonetheless, as we prepare for this major transition it means we are in the process of selling our current home and simultaneously buying another house in another state.
When you are the seller it means you have to live in a museum-quality home fit for the front page of Southern Living. You have to be ready to grab the dog and flee at a moment's notice so prospective buyers can nose around your house, open all your kitchen drawers, and make snide comments about your decorating.
The first week our house was up for sale we had more than thirty showings! My husband, dog and I practically lived at the dog-friendly restaurants nearby with outdoor seating to allow for the parade of strangers entering our home. I think I gained ten pounds stress-eating. I must admit though, it was a little fun watching the people arrive on our ring camera with a glass of wine in hand and a warm crab dip on the table, but mostly it was aggravating. There is a popular TikTok video of a guy dressed as a mom, running around the house saying, "We cannot let people know we live here" while cleaning frantically. That was me. I related fully. If you even dared to leave your shoes by the door or a water bottle on your nightstand you faced my wrath, and don't even think about taking a coffee cup off the mug tree! It has to be full and photo-worthy at all times!
Thankfully, we received an acceptable offer before my family began to detest me, and then only had to leave the house for home inspectors and termite guys. We are safe again to live in our house and leave a dish or two in the sink, shoes by the door, and hairspray bottles and toothbrushes out on the bathroom counter. The cover of Southern Living is no longer my goal.
Over the past few weeks, I have also made multiple trips to another state to look for a new house. I fell in love with an oldie but goodie—that turned out not to be such a goodie after inspection. I now understand that electrical and plumbing are more important than quartz countertops. Sigh. I started over and luckily fell in love with a "newie" and hopefully goodie (inspection pending).
We have been up to our eyeballs in contract negotiations and mortgage paperwork—all while living our normal lives. It has been stressful, exciting, and exhausting.
Rewind to six months ago. I purchased tickets for our youngest daughter (15), my husband, and me to go to the Luke Combs concert at Penn State (six and a half hours away from where we live)! It seemed like a great idea at the time. We LOVE Luke Combs. However, on Thursday after returning from a seven-hour house-hunting road trip, I started to think leaving the next day on another road trip was a bad idea. My knees and back hurt, I wasn't sure if I had any clean underwear, and I was mentally drained.
Our love for Luke prevailed and we started the journey despite my whining. Very shortly into the drive, we reached the gorgeous Allegheny mountains covered with lush vegetation. They were absolutely stunning—proof that God exists. The valley below was bright green and inhabited by hungry goats, cows, horses, and even emus. It was a little chilly, so we even saw goats in sweaters which is too adorable for words. The landscape began to melt away the stress of the previous weeks and I began to relax. We listened to Trivia Podcasts and I allowed myself to replace thoughts of mortgage paperwork and long to-do lists with general knowledge answers and enjoyed being in the car with my family with no outside distractions of the demanding world.
We miraculously had a weekend that was about fun, family, and renewal. We were able to sleep in late, rested comfortably in an Airbnb with horses and mountains as our view, sang and danced like crazy at the concert, and even had ice cream for breakfast at Berkey Creamery at Penn State. It was phenomenal. Ten out of ten.
On the long ride home, we once again marveled at the beauty of our country—God's amazing handiwork, and remembered there is so much beauty in the world. You just have to look for it. We also remembered focusing on family is refreshing to the soul and taking time to smell country air is healing.
I hope you all take a minute today to breathe and find something beautiful to focus on to renew your spirit.
Where is your favorite place to take a little R&R? Share it in the comments below!
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