If I knew then what I know now . . .

Several weeks ago I wrote a blog called The Downsizing Blues, and now I have house selling STRESS.  We spent a week getting the house clean to the standard that our realtor sets.  That means NOTHING sits out.  We’ve replaced carpet in the master bedroom, had the lower level and staircase professionally cleaned, power washed the front of the house and done some touch up painting.  All this and not one person has viewed our home as a potential buyer.

My Mom was a stay at home mom, in those days, three out of four of my best friends Moms also worked at home.  Our house was always very neat.  I know now that Mom could best be described as fastidious, it’s just the way we lived, and I didn’t know anything different.

As an adult I’ve in my own home I like a bit of clutter.  I like to have fruit, utensils, a, a coffee maker, baking supplies and kitchen equipment on the counters.  We store our boots and wallabies on a matt at the main entrance.  Our floor to ceiling bookcases are not orderly and in addition to books store nick nacks and family pictures.  My office has a large oak desk that weighs in at about 500 pounds.  The top of the desk has several plants, more family pictures, mementos from our travels and miscellaneous stuff.

 Living like this is comfortable.  Now, everything is put away.  The garage has been transformed into a holding area.  Every day I spend at least a third of my time searching for something.  It’s frustrating both because of the time wasted and the fact that I can’t remember where my stuff is. 

House selling/buying has hijacked our summer.  We’ve been bike riding once.  Our kayaks are getting dusty in the garage.  We haven’t been hiking and we haven’t found the time to take our grandson swimming.  I’m tired all the time. We have found time to tend the garden and of course the lawn is perfect because that’s part of the ‘selling image.’

Last week we began the process of negotiating buying a home and the stress has become unbearable.  I’m short tempered, not sleeping, eating poorly and worst of all – I lost all focus on writing.  I wrote less than 1000 words last week, less than half of my weekly goal.  I spent a day researching for details in the current chapter but couldn’t squeeze out any words.  Since I set up a weekly word goal for myself I’ve sailed along.  In fact, I moved my target complete date for the first draft from Dec. 31 to Oct. 31.

So, if I knew several weeks ago what I know now about the changes in my life that home downsizing would mean, I just might reconsider . . .