A Shrunken Heart and a "Bah Humbug"?

Give it to me straight, am I Scrooge, or the Grinch?  Be honest here.

I was thinking about how I started my last post, and I realized that I sounded really grouchy about buying a house.  I'd like to apologize for that, and set the record straight.  I am, in fact, thrilled that we are going to finally own a home, in part because that means we are (anticipating) living somewhere long enough to make it economically feasible.  That's a huge deal.  Not to mention the fact that the lure of owning a house is the only thing that is going to propel me into the car some morning in March with all my belongings packed away and on the road behind me.  Ok, that and the fact that my mister will be going to Nebraska, and I really like him, and his job is what provides the money for the food and clothes my babies and I enjoy, and as of March, that job will be in Nebraska.  So, go CORNHUSKERS!! (weird, I know.)

Again, we haven't even actually started looking at houses yet (we leave tomorrow) and already I have learned:

- the difference between an FHA and a conventional loan.
- the difference between the interest rate and the APR when comparing loan offers.
- what a "point" is, and the meaning of the word "escrow".
- what it means when they say "to be sold as is"
- what a three quarter bathroom is (am I the only one that didn't know that?)
- that there are more cows than people in Nebraska
- that I still have a lot to learn...

and I have felt:

- grateful that we have been able to save enough to afford a home.
- relieved that we don't have any debt, or loans, or other demands on our money
- humbled by how little I know
- excited thinking about having a dishwasher and a garden
- proud of my husband for working so hard and accomplishing so much (he has 2 more papers almost ready for submission, which practically puts our Christmas letter out of date before most of you have even seen it.)
- happy knowing that my daughters will have a stable place to call home (sigh, although, this may yet again be just a dream of mine... we'll see!! I'm optimistic.)

So, I think my heart was shrunken and I was "Bah Humbug"-ing because I had forgotten for a moment all of these things, but truly, this is how I feel about it most of the time.

Comments

  1. MJDecember 11, 2009 at 8:46 PM

    You're neither. Buying a house is frustrating. I know this because I'm watching a few other friends and some coworkers work through this process, and they're all frustrated, too.

    Add to that being pregnant, and, well, you're a LOT better about dealing with it than I would.

    I think it's great that you're focusing on your blessings to keep things in perspective. I'm really excited for your move to Nebraska! It's going to be AWESOME!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. D. and A. CoxDecember 14, 2009 at 2:05 PM

    I agree with what MJ said... whoever that is. And honestly, I'm way impressed by how much you've learned, because I don't know several of those things you listed. It makes me glad to know that other people don't know what they're doing, either!
    ~ac

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mimi CollettDecember 19, 2009 at 6:08 PM

    Aw you almost made me cry. :) How wonderful!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnnDecember 26, 2009 at 8:52 PM

    Way to go, Amy. I have a tee-shirt that my cousins from Nebraska sent me. On the front of the shirt you see a picture of the heads of a group of cows and the caption says, "Nebraska is not the end of the earth . . ." The back of the shirt shows the back of the cows and the caption " . . . but you can see it from here."

    ReplyDelete

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