So we have been trying to buy a house for a few months and the process has been…let’s call it trying. That’s the positive person’s word for frustrating, exasperating, annoying, infuriating, you get the picture.
We found a house we love. I mean, really love. We tackled all of the obstacles needed to purchase it and then, yes, you guessed it, more obstacles.
Moving by Thanksgiving
Months ago I invited my college friend to join us for Thanksgiving, long before we thought we would be moving. She was coming to town and I told her there was a seat or two at my table and she was more than welcome with her family. Once we planned to move, I pictured a lovely dinner in our new home. I even bought chairs. 12 to be exact. 12 lovely chairs that are in boxes occupying half the space in one room of my two-bedroom condo.
OK, fine. Everyone has shit, so we didn’t get in for Thanksgiving. No big deal. We had a nice dinner at a relative’s house and visited with my friend to watch Florida State play football at one of the designated Seminole bars in NYC. We drank adult apple ciders which turned out to be apple cider and Fireball. So I discovered my new favorite winter drink as a result of not moving. FSU won and so did I.
Christmas Dinner Plates
Alright, so we didn’t move in time for Turkey Day, but surely we will be in for Christmas right? Of course. What could go wrong said no one who understands real estate transactions ever? I might as well order a new table. The table arrived on the 22nd and is now sitting at Wes’ job waiting for its new home too.
Oh, but wait, we need holiday dinnerware to go with our new home.
For years, I have searched for holiday dishes. They were all too cheesy, too could only be used for Christmasy, too expensive, too ugly, too not my style…until Black Friday. After shopping for a new sofa (which we found and is just waiting for us to order), I stumbled upon these gorgeous Nicole Miller Home plates at HomeGoods. 
I was in love. But I was tired and figured I would just find them online. Clearly, I am not an experienced HomeGoods shopper or I would have known this was a fatal error. After discovering that the perfect dishes for my perfect new home were not available on the interweb, I returned to another Home Goods only to find they didn’t have them. And so my hunt began. I needed these dishes for my perfect Christmas dinner in my new perfect home.
After obsessively hitting every HomeGoods, TJ Maxx and Marshalls I could find, including tweeting and emailing Nicole Miller Home (the company, not her actual home because I’m not that crazy), I called in the troops. With the help of my Facebook family, I now own an almost complete set – minus a few teacups and one dinner plate. Teamwork paid off and I got my dishes in time for dinner in my new home.
Holding it Together
Oh, but wait, there were more complications with the sale of my property. And we have made calls to push this along. I’ve called. My lawyer has called. My realtor has called. The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker – they too, have called.
My mortgage guy has been quite helpful in the process – listening to my rants about “the system.” Today he asked how I was holding it together. To which I replied:
“Holding it together is a relative term. I will say this…I’ve taken full advantage of the 50% off holiday chocolate sales to ease my stress. They didn’t have a 50% off Xanax sale.”
His response: “Your humor will get you through.”
He’s right. Kind of. Mortgage underwriters probably won’t accept humor as collateral, but it does help to alleviate the stress.
The Waiting Game
As of this writing, we have not scheduled a close, but hoping that any minute we will get the call that everything is good and we can move next week. I have done everything in my power to make it happen. I am reminded that I am blessed with the ability to have a home and awesome friends who scoured the globe looking for matching dishes. I am much to be thankful for and will do just fine with a little patience a little humor.
Everyone has shit in their lives. Moving, holidays, family struggles, work…life. Take a second to laugh. It might make you feel better. Even for a moment.