Not There Yet

As we have been searching for the perfect house in Austin, Darren has become increasingly frustrated with the experience.  I have been in Houston, just surfing the net looking at pictures of houses while he has done all the legwork.  He has been the one to travel from neighborhood to neighborhood, talking with sales person after sales person.  He is in the trenches and I'm just hollering from the sidelines.

Our list of desires is long and varied...from distance to work, to distance to the elementary school, to neighborhood parks and swimming pools, and that doesn't even account for our very picky tastes in houses. I am fully aware that we may have to settle, let go of some of our desires.  A month into the process, and 3 months from the earliest that the kids and I can move to Austin, I am just not there yet. 

It is hard to imagine our life in a different way.  Riding bikes to school with the kids has been the best part of my day for almost the last 2 years.  I love watching Alyssa cross the street, rack her bike, and confidently walk into school while I wait on the corner.  I have been dreaming of doing the same for Jackson too.  So if, in a month or so, we just absolutely can't find a house in a neighborhood in which we can do that, I will come to terms with it.  Again, I'm just not there yet. 

I am much more Zen about this process, probably because of the way that we came to our house in Cypress.  It was meant to be.  Our house was on the market 1 day when we found it, and was considering an offer when we put ours in.  When we walked in, we KNEW it was our house, it felt like ours. At the time, Alyssa was just 9 months old, so we didn't have this stringent list of house desires.  We lucked out-- half a mile from the quality elementary school, a very short walk to a community park, less than a mile to the community pool, paved running trails, etc.  We just fell in love with the house, and through living there, fell in love with the neighborhood.  Not that our neighborhood nor house was perfect-- it wasn't on a cul-de-sac, which we would like now but it was a great house for us, in a great neighborhood for family life.  It has served us well.  I am hoping and praying we find the same here in Austin. 

It has been a great house for us, and hopefully for someone else very soon.
Praying we can find something very similar in Austin!