Remembering The People Who Help You Along Your Journey

We close on our house tomorrow at 11 a.m.  Yeah!!!  It has been a long journey from deciding to buy a house to closing.  It hasn’t been fun most of the time.  There’s been mostly bad times.  There were three houses that we put offers on, but for some reason they didn’t work out.  There has been one house (for sale by owner) that we almost bought, but the owner pulled out two weeks before closing.  I can’t tell you how many houses we have looked at over the course of a year and a half that didn’t fit what we were looking for.

I was thinking last night about how many people helped us in journey.  Helped us not lose hope.  With financing.  With looking for houses and telling us when they found one that we might be interested in.  Giving their opinion of the house we were looking at after looking at pictures on Realtor.com.  (My husband comes from a family of 11 kids — everyone has their opinion).

I’d like to list the people that helped us.

Tara, our realtor.  She is absolutely wonderful.  She has shown us so many houses and been absolutely amazing through it all.  She has helped us make offers (we should have used her on the for sale by owner house) and worked around my husband’s (the two days he is home) schedule.   There have many times I have been ready to give up.  She’s always encouraging me with the phrase “Chris, the right house is out there.  We just have to find it.”  There are many times I didn’t believe her, but she was right.  I knew the house we are buying was the house.  (I also “knew” I was going to marry my husband on the first day I met him.  That’s another blog post).

Rebecca, our banker.   She’s been there for us from day one.  (Although she knows I won’t hesitate to go somewhere else for a loan.  When I was looking for my last vehicle she said I’d have to wait a week for the loan to go through.  I thanked her for her help and told her I was going to a different bank.  I was signing papers two days later.)   When the seller killed the for sale by owner deal I was devastated.  I had worked my butt off to make that deal work.  She shrugged her shoulders and told us that maybe it wasn’t the house for us and that we would probably find one that fit our needs better.  I was shocked.  I didn’t understand how it couldn’t be the house for us.   Now I understand.  She has been there to answer any questions we may have.  She has time for us any time we have went to the bank to see her.  She answers my emails from home before she goes to work.

My mom.  She’s the best mom in the world and I am so lucky to have her.  She’s always there for me with kind words, a hug, a ear and occasionally a lecture, if I need it (and sometimes I do).  I can call her and she’s at my house in five minutes.  (Another reason I didn’t want the house.  It’s 20 minutes away.  She told me not to worry.  The new house is a hop, skip and a jump away….when it’s not snowing).  She’s my rock and I’m going to be lost without her when she passes.

The girls at work.  I work with encouraging women who have been with me every step of the way.  Consoling me after the house deal fell through, encouraging me to keep looking when I lost hope and celebrating with me when things are good.  I love all their advice and tidbits of info. They always make me laugh.

My family and my in laws.  I am extremely lucky to have this bunch.  My husband’s family is a lot like mine.  We are always there for one another.  My family is quiet.  They give their opinions when needed.  My husband’s family is loud and very opinionated.  You always know where you stand and what their opinion is.  Whether you want to know or not.  Our families mesh.  We invite my husband’s family to our family functions and they invite my family to their functions.  Both families have been extremely supportive with our house hunt and have even gone to look at houses with us.  They are going to help us move, paint and all of that good stuff.  Fun.  Fun.

I think sometimes we are so caught up in the process of whatever we are doing that we forget about the people who help us along the way and who are always there for us.  Day in and day out.  We might not always get along or have the same opinion, but at the end of the day that doesn’t matter.  What matters is that they are always there for us and willing to help.

We are going to give our realtor a $50 gift card to Kohl’s and my husband is going to offer to do a project that our banker needs done at her house for all of their help.  We are going to have a house warming party for our families and friends.

One of the best things about the journey are the people that help you along the way.