Contractual Agreement....

Our house has been on the market for almost 2 weeks. We've shown it a handful of times. Every time it is shown I need to be absent. Meaning, I need to entertain a few kids for at least an hour. Sounds easy? It's costing me a fortune. Small town USA only has a Walmart to browse, a Burger King play place, and a library. We usually do lunch, then wander walmart. But I always end up spending money. Usually in the form of bribes. Wednesday there were 2 showings back to back which meant an extra long outing. Luckily it was during the school day so I only had Presley and Landon to contend with. The showings started at 1 and I was a little late backing out of my garage. The viewers arrived a little early and parked on the street in front of my mailbox. I waved as I sized them up. Then it kind of hit me. Those people. They could be moving into my space if they chose to. Running down my halls, sleeping in my room, hanging clothes in my closets. I kind of choked up a little. I have so many memories of this home I live in. We have made it our very own and I don't like the thought of someone else taking it over like they own it. I got over it quickly when I heard they actually put in an offer. Only it was seriously low-ball. The realtor told me that they were all set to build. They would offer no more than what they were offering, no reason to counter-offer. Shawn and I mulled it over. Because I was the only one actually talking to the realtor due to Shawn's absence, I needed his words of wisdom to get me through this. Shawn felt like our asking price was the lowest he was willing to go. We hashed it out. And we declined the offer. We told the realtor that we appreciated the offer from a buyers standpoint, but no thank you. We were fully aware that 6 months down the road this decision could very well be regretted, but because we recognized that, we felt good about our decision. That was kind of hard for me. To let the buyers walk away. Only because I realize how the economy is. We are kind of insulated from the nastiness of serious foreclosures, but we aren't immune to it. It's a buyers market out there. We are in a unique position that we would be fine if we had to hang onto this house for awhile. But we don't want to. Shawn had complete faith that we would be fine. And at 10 am Thursday morning the realtor called to tell me that they were going to give us full asking price and the closing date we wanted. June 22nd. Man. I'm glad I have Shawn on my side. He is so calm. I'm a lunatic. If I had been completely in charge we would have lost out on the full price benefit. I don't feel as settled as I think I should feel. Maybe because the inspection is Monday morning. This house is only 3 1/2 years old so I'm not foreseeing any major issues. But you never know. My mom said I won't feel settled until we've purchased our new home, moved in, and closed on this one. She's probably right. I am sad to see this home go. It's not just a house to me. It is a home. I hope the people who are buying it will love it like we have. And that we find a new house that we can make into a home. Different phases of life bring about a lot of change. I guess I better get used to it. This is only the beginning.