78. Smooth Move

PREFACE

By all odds, our move from Kirkland to Olympia in 2008, like anyone’s big life changes, should have had at least some snafus. Or some outright chaos. How did everything go so smoothly? No, better than smoothly. It was miraculous!

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In late 2007, Linda began talking about retiring from teaching elementary school, selling our home in Kirkland, Washington, and moving 75 miles south to Olympia. Boy, was I was reluctant to get on board with that! So much work! I pointed to my hastily-drawn list of pros and cons.

A white foggy fuzz of “what-ifs” closed in around me; I was overwhelmed in so many fearful thoughts that it was hard to move. For example, the housing market and everything else was in recession—there were several homes for sale nearby just like ours, unsold for many months. Stores were closing, people were losing jobs and Linda was about to turn in her resignation! You could see the nearby For-Sale signs, overgrown and faded, hanging crooked by one hook. We could be stuck for a very long time with dashed hopes. But wait… even worse, what if our house sold too soon? Linda wanted to finish out the school year, so we’d need to stay around until late June. What would we do if the house sold in early spring?  She agreed that would be bad, and offered up a plan which involved storing our things and staying with a fellow teacher until the end of the term. It could have worked, but it sounded like a big hassle. My wife was not dissuaded.

Linda’s list of pros (and no cons) was short & simple. Number 1: it was the right thing to do. Number 2: it’s what she wanted to do. Number 3: never mind all the negatives, it was going to work out.

When Linda is up against my unwillingness, she uses her Super Power. It’s way stronger than a sugary “Please, honey, do it for me…” She simply reminds me that affirmation works. Why waste any time dreading pitfalls, and expecting failure? What if it’s easy?  I know this is true, except I forget it when it matters.

She cut and pasted pictures of nice homes and gardens on a poster board, with captions like “perfect sale” and “joyous move” So we could envision a positive outcome. Dang, she got me again! The facts may be obvious, but they don’t always reflect the truth around this marriage.

Very soon, the “coincidences” started lining up.

A friend from my past appeared unexpectedly, needing a place to stay while he saved up rent money. We let him live in our spare room in exchange for painting and repair work.  The dreaded talk with our daughter and some friends, about moving farther away, went so well they rolled up their sleeves and helped us pack and clean! A woman who Linda had known since high school stepped up to be our real estate agent. She bought and installed new window blinds and staged the home, assuring us it was going to sell.

We listed in April, and I was repeating a “positive outcome” mantra round the clock, especially hoping to avoid the too-quick-sale scenario!

But in fact, on day one, the For Sale sign hadn’t even been planted on our lot before a family came to view the house. I was in my overalls touching up the paint on the garage door when they and their agent drove up. From England, the folks were on a tight timeframe to find a home and secure jobs. They had researched our exact neighborhood because they were looking for the best school for their daughter. Their #1 choice in all the land was Carl Sandburg Elementary. It was ¼ mile around the corner and I assured them we were within its district.  They hadn’t even entered the house, but I think at that point I already had them.

I had fretted over our 1960’s split level floorplan, the small bedrooms, dated kitchen and bathrooms, and… we had 8’ popcorn-texture, asbestos-looking ceilings, usually a deal killer for modern home buyers! But the couple adored our house and raved about how roomy it was compared to their home in England. I heard, “Look at this, Honey. Oh, my goodness, there’s a closet in each bedroom! And a little one in the hall just for towels!” They could find no fault. The little girl came running in to let Mummy know there was a gigantic backyard. The mom noticed my rows of raspberries by the fence. She asked, “Are those rahsbries? Oh, we love rahsbries!” She commented on how impressed they were that I was wearing painter’s overalls, indicating I was a conscientious homeowner!

They were eager to buy but had one issue. They were both teachers back in England and had to return soon to finish their terms. They wouldn’t be able to move in until the end of June. They sheepishly wondered, “Would it be too much to ask that you hold off your move to Olympia, stay in Kirkland and caretake the house, say until the end of June, rather than leave it vacant all that time?” I couldn’t believe my ears.  My fear that we'd be sleeping on someone's hide-a-bed for two months just evaporated!

I played my poker face. “Well, hmm, yeah. I’m sure we could work that out for you.”  Within hours they made a perfect offer and everyone was satisfied! 

Now, what about us finding a new home in Olympia?

Our agent showed us a dozen possibilities that matched our list of priorities, so we got right on it with a day of house viewing in Olympia. We kept thinking back to the first one we looked at that checked all the boxes. It definitely bore a resemblance to the pictures on Linda’s poster. Our offer was accepted by the end of that day!

Two months later, we drove away from our Kirkland home one day before the new folks arrived from England.  On June 20^th, two days after the last day of school, our move in went very well (except for the grandkids going wild in the yard with bags of Styrofoam packing peanuts – I still find them under the shrubs.)

Here’s the only thing I can think of that went sideways on that day. But even that had a silver lining anyway. The door to my workshop building couldn’t be unlocked and the movers couldn’t carry in my tools and cabinets. We waited some time for a locksmith. The poor guy seemed really down and let on that he had personal and business problems. It was time for a little man-to-man Robert TLC. I listened, patted him on the shoulder and said something encouraging about the rest of his day. He looked better as he packed his tools, and smiled on his way to the next job. I felt like I may have saved his day.

So, was it the right move? Oh, yes! We love our house, we have good neighbors, Olympia is a great town, and we have friends and family here. We have the advantages of being close in to town, but are situated at the end of a lane and surrounded by a wooded ravine, making it feel secluded. And Linda was right, it was good to affirm that everything would work out.