Long time coming

I have been playing this one pretty close to the vest because I didn't want to get my hopes up too much, or jinx it, etc... but it looks like our house is finally selling. We have a closing date.

It's been a rough journey with some rather unexpected expenses and headaches, all compounded by the fact that I'm a thousand miles away and working nights. Doing anything by phone requires me to miss prime sleeping time, and having the holidays in the middle of things made getting callbacks from some people a bit of a pain.

I've been out here since the middle of June - seven and a half months.

MrsZ has been out to visit three times in that period.

It's been very hard trying to balance building a bit of a life out here with waiting for her so we can build OUR life out here.

We couldn't have done any of this without the support and love of family and friends (new and old). When I was interviewing last year, I was given a roof and a meal by TheJack, Brigid, Pediem, and others. My parents (who I doubt will ever see this) have been an unwavering cheerleading section and have shuffled around their own schedules to help us with getting the house ready or letting in inspectors and contractors. Or mowing the lawn for us. Or shoveling the sidewalk.

Another friend who as yet remains nameless has been a perfect anchor for both MrsZ and myself; listening, advising, and just being there when we needed a hug. More on that another time.

We never dreamed this would end up being an eight-month process to completion. (Jay, I can't begin to tell you how envious I was of your eight-week process.)

We learned some very important lessons along the way... one of the key ones being "don't do major business with friends/acquaintances". If anyone in our old area wants details on that, send me an email - I'm not going to drag names in the mud publicly, but I will happily share our experiences over the last year privately.

Thank you all. Seriously. It's been unreal.