No Frogs

Day 51 (March 26, 2019)

Hey Big Man,

            As Mathew McConaughey might say, “Alright, alright, alright.” Lord, now we are talking. We saw more houses today, and what a difference one day makes. Yesterday, the houses were (uh how should I say this) unique at best. I mean, one even had naked figures, in PG-13 positions, carved into the door frames. Don’t get me wrong, the art history buff in me appreciated the old-world characteristics, but if the “whoas” heard throughout the house were any indication, I do not believe this type of unique craftsmanship was hitting the style preferences of this particular audience. On the other hand, today’s houses—completely devoid of naked carvings—were a much better fit.

            The houses were more traditional and set back into more mature neighborhoods. Honestly, Lord, I felt so good looking at homes today. I think it was because the neighborhoods we were in felt a lot like “The Estates” (the housing community our current family home is located). Ha, “The Estates” makes the housing community sound so grand, and like “la de da, let me look down my nose at you.” But you know, it isn’t that type of community at all.  It is a community nestled back into the countryside filled with hardworking—roll up your sleeves and get work done—kind of people; a community with so many cul-de-sacs great for families and perfect for trick or treating; and a community with one little country store in the middle where you can walk to get a coke and ice cream bar on your way to the neighborhood pool. That is what the housing communities we saw today felt more like—they felt well-kept and neighborly.

            And, Lord, us girls were completely drawn to the brick traditionals in each neighborhood. We were especially drawn to two homes today. One was a two-story red brick traditional and the other was a two-story white brick traditional. Each were nestled towards the end of a cul-de-sac; each had a lower-level master for my parents; each had updated kitchens; and each were beautiful. But, I will say, the white brick traditional stole our breath the moment we walked in the door. (It was the only one we asked to see twice today.) You know what it was, Lord? It was the gorgeous sunroom that just knocked our socks off. It had floor to ceiling glass windows, intricate white moldings, exposed brick walls, and access to a wide multi-level deck in the backyard. It was, honestly, spectacular. When I saw that sunroom, I immediately went up to my mom and told her I could see a Christmas tree in the corner and our family sitting alongside it opening up gifts on Christmas morning. It was truly the first house we had walked through that I could more than just see my family living there, but actually envision them making it home.

            There were a couple catches though. An offer had already been made by another prospective buyer, and the cost of the home definitely pushed the budget. The seller offered to give my family the night to think it all over before they accepted the other offer. So, we shall see what my parents decide. No matter what their decision is, I am just so happy that today was such a positive home search experience. It really shines hope, within my thoughts, when it comes to this whole entire move. Oh, and speaking of thoughts (brainy things), even though it was still hard to walk through houses today, I did not have any meltdowns, and I was able to work through my fears in a calmer fashion. Honestly, I think it helped that we saw less homes today. Plus, one of the houses accounted for two of the visits, so there were less occasions for me to be surprised, or overwhelmed, by my OCD fears because there were fewer unfamiliar spaces.

            Lord, today was just a great day, and I am so encouraged on so many levels, but especially when it comes to my family finding a new family home. Ha, I think it helped that none of the homes were overly “unique” today. Like my mom said, when we got back to our friend’s house, “There weren’t any frogs today!” (Meaning, she did not feel like we saw any odd houses today, just homes I would assume even a prince wouldn’t mind kicking off his shoes and staying awhile in.) And, Lord, that is so night and day compared to yesterday’s experience. So, thank you for the difference in days and for the kind of hope that a frog-less kind of day produces.

Always,

Your Daughter Kaitlan

P.S. Lord, can I ask you to help anyone going through a big life change, especially one that might be a tad difficult, because when something huge is going on it truly can feel like you (we) are living day to day? And, Lord, the days can be so drastically different from each other. Some days are filled with a bit too much “uniqueness” and that can set our anxiety off, making us feel like nothing in our world is ever going to feel the same or fit right again. During those type of days, it can be hard to picture the change bringing any sort of good or normalcy. So, Lord, I ask that you help each one of us persevere through those tough days because, as I experienced today, no two days are the same, and tomorrow could bring such positivity. It could be a new day where things start to fit a bit squarer—a day with “no frogs.”

Thank you for reading! If you are new, this is a chronological blog series. It is best read in order. CLICK HERE for the intro.