For the past three weeks or so, we've been eagerly anticipating our closing. The morning of the 28th just before our "final walk through", Tony and I celebrated by grabbing breakfast at Mo's, our favorite hole-in-the-wall in Hartford's West End. We then sped to meet Michael - our agent - at the house. I couldn't believe that it was only my 2nd time there. Previous to that, it took a little over 10 minutes to realize that house was going to be ours. At the walk-through, it was like seeing it all for the first time. We opened and closed every door, flushed every toilet, ran the faucets, inspected the crown molding, turned on every light, dutifully turned them off again, and looked out every window to the backyard, the neighbors' yards, the front sidewalk, and the driveway.. Half an hour later, we were in our attorney's office signing away the next 30 years of our life - as well as our 1st and 2nd born! And, after that, there was more to sign! In all, the closing was pretty anti-climactic. No balloons, no confetti, no gospel choir singing our praises..
When we returned to the house, Tony surprised me with a bottle of champagne and the toasting flutes we used at our wedding. There, in front of our kitchen window in our house we toasted to us, the house, and all the amazing things in store for us.
Much to our good fortune, the previous owners did many updates which included finishing the basement and installing a gas fireplace down there. Score! So, after drinking half the bottle of champagne, we stumbled downstairs to play and wander. Among their many updates, they freshly painted every room - and again to our good fortune - we found a tall metal cabinet filled with paint cans, and to our amazement, each can was labeled. One read, "bedroom - 1st floor", another read, "bathroom - 1st floor, and so on.. The last one on that shelf read, "2nd floor bedroom - Sam's room". "Sam's room!", Tony and I repeated in unison. And, that was the moment I lost it. Hard. I'm talking sobs. Of joy and exhaustion. The blue and gray room with the great built-in desk and shelves - across from the master bedroom - once belonged to a little guy named Sam.
Since that moment, we've been busy little bees - cleaning, Swiffer-ing, lining shelves and cabinets, and painting the first floor bathroom from womb-pink to "snow ballet white". And, because of the long holiday weekend, we were able to fill our cars and bring over everything we received for the wedding and shower and other items we could grab and carry. In our many trips to the house, we've met a couple of our neighbors - a nice bottle of Pinot Noir, a box of chocolates, and some friendly neighborhood gossip were among their warm welcome and well-wishes.
Spring will surely be a season of surprises for us when the nicely landscaped front and back yards begin to bloom. Supposedly, there are rose bushes along the side of the house, an apple tree out back, and some wisteria growing up the front pergola. We can't wait to see it all. Plans include stripping wallpaper from the 2nd floor bathroom, repainting all the doors, the trim, and the pergola, and building a stone or brick patio out back.
For now, Sam's room stays as is.
When we returned to the house, Tony surprised me with a bottle of champagne and the toasting flutes we used at our wedding. There, in front of our kitchen window in our house we toasted to us, the house, and all the amazing things in store for us.
Much to our good fortune, the previous owners did many updates which included finishing the basement and installing a gas fireplace down there. Score! So, after drinking half the bottle of champagne, we stumbled downstairs to play and wander. Among their many updates, they freshly painted every room - and again to our good fortune - we found a tall metal cabinet filled with paint cans, and to our amazement, each can was labeled. One read, "bedroom - 1st floor", another read, "bathroom - 1st floor, and so on.. The last one on that shelf read, "2nd floor bedroom - Sam's room". "Sam's room!", Tony and I repeated in unison. And, that was the moment I lost it. Hard. I'm talking sobs. Of joy and exhaustion. The blue and gray room with the great built-in desk and shelves - across from the master bedroom - once belonged to a little guy named Sam.
Since that moment, we've been busy little bees - cleaning, Swiffer-ing, lining shelves and cabinets, and painting the first floor bathroom from womb-pink to "snow ballet white". And, because of the long holiday weekend, we were able to fill our cars and bring over everything we received for the wedding and shower and other items we could grab and carry. In our many trips to the house, we've met a couple of our neighbors - a nice bottle of Pinot Noir, a box of chocolates, and some friendly neighborhood gossip were among their warm welcome and well-wishes.
Spring will surely be a season of surprises for us when the nicely landscaped front and back yards begin to bloom. Supposedly, there are rose bushes along the side of the house, an apple tree out back, and some wisteria growing up the front pergola. We can't wait to see it all. Plans include stripping wallpaper from the 2nd floor bathroom, repainting all the doors, the trim, and the pergola, and building a stone or brick patio out back.
For now, Sam's room stays as is.
