Be Mine

4/10

"Time to look at other houses, Gimky. I wouldn't put all of your eggs in one basket" my sister advised the other day. Allie agreed. "I know you're not a window-shopper but it wouldn't hurt to look at the house on Halloween Street." 

I asked my husband, "What do you think the chances are that things will work out with the awkwardly charming house?"

"I'd say 80%," he guessed.

Yesterday, we received official confirmation that at least half of the house is illegal, much to the Owner's utter dismay. "I'm pretty much writing it off, Gimky" my husband told me, last night. Thinking aloud, he thought we could send letters of inquiry to owners on a particular street we like. 

I can't really get my head wrapped around this. So much effort! Do we want to own a house so badly? Not really. But I'd love to have a patch of green for the boys to kick around a ball. It would make me happy to be growing stuff again and nursing a yard full of flowers and vegetables. I'd also really appreciate to not be living next to a bank parking lot, where all the trucks begin arriving at 5:30 am to make deliveries to the shops in town. Every morning I wake to the roar of their idling engines and the beep, beep, beep as they adjust their positions in the lot.... But, you know. It's not that terrible if I pretend we just moved out of the city and it's definitely not expensive for everything it offers.

Since Monday, when we first suspected something was amiss with the awkwardly charming house, I walked the dog past other houses for sale. Every other well-located house was well beyond our means. But you know what the funny thing is, I realized? If I had money to burn and could buy anything in Sunny Patch, I'd still be intrigued by the awkwardly charming house. What Annicles said is true. That wonky house has definitely captured my imagination. To the degree that the impatient, type A me is compelled to wait and see if the Owner can fix the problems. There's not another listing that entices me to actually want to go inside and I definitely don't have the appetite to go sniffing around for unlisted options. If it's not going to be this awkwardly charming house, I'm actually content to just stay put and wait.