Saturday, I had a mandatory compliance meeting for my new business venture. Was pretty interesting, but nothing I didn’t know. I flew home after the meeting and had 2 hours to prepare for the realtor. I was under the delusion that I could deny the reality of the market by making my house sparkling clean. Jason and CJ had done a great job doing the basics that morning, but there were still some details to finish. They are boys after all! We get everything looking fabulous and even put some artwork up, including some really cool wall stickers above our bed because we don’t have a headboard. (We had subtle Wizard of Oz theme to our wedding, so it seemed appropriate. See below.)
Once this is all done, I say to CJ, “Is your room clean?” He, of course, says yes. So I say, “Clean to my standards or clean to your standards.” He admits it’s somewhere in the middle, and I know I’m going to have to go up there and check. He occupies the third floor walk up attic, and I’ve tried to avoid venturing up there since he moved in. But I know it’s inevitable. Before I cave, I send Jason into the abyss….. and then he comes back down and says what I’ve been dreading….”You are going to have to go up there!” So I steel myself against what I might find and walk up the stairs. And then the panic sets in. The man who will determine my fate (I know I’m being dramatic, but we really want out of the house/neighborhood!) will be here in 30 mins. This could take years! I knew that teenage boys were messy, but this….this is…..there are no words. And this was after he cleaned it! Thankfully, some unknown force are sheer brute strength and will took over. I began barking orders, shoving things under the bed, into drawers, wherever I could hide the junk. And I literally mean junk! (Note to self: Discuss possible hoarding tendencies with Jason and maybe find out how much weight the top floor of our house will support!)
Thankfully, the man was late! So Jason and I were able to compose ourselves, pour a drink and sit on the front porch looking like it was effortless before the man arrived.
We all know where this is going right? Unless you live under a rock that is buried in a cave covered in prehistoric sludge, you know we are underwater on our mortgage! And I think in the back of my mind, I knew it would be bad. The reality, for me, stings. For Jason, it hurt a little more! He’s still reeling a bit. I mean, I bought this house almost 12 years ago, and thought I got a pretty good deal back then. It was a fixer-upper (fun in the beginning, but I have since vowed to never undergo any form of renovation on a home older than 10 years!), and I’ve put a ton of work into it. And so has Jason. His more recent, which is why I think he’s still in shock! So, our only choices are to stay and deal with the drama that is our street or ruin my credit by defaulting or begging for a short sale. I know in the end we will do the right thing. We are both so damn responsible! But for now, we enjoy plotting our escape!
To console ourselves, and because CJ went to a haunted house with a friend, we had a real live date night at home! I made steaks, roasted potatoes and caprese salad, and then we played a video game on the Wii. No one can tell me that doesn’t count! It totally counts as a date!
Sunday was spent at my dad’s doing the winterizing chores and the yard work. We got some free plants out of the deal so we can finish the back yard landscaping, and we were well-fed. So all-in-all, it was a pretty nice weekend in total.
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