It's been one year since An Iowa Dad and I completely lost our minds. It was one year ago that we walked into a local bank and signed away our lives. When you hear that, what do YOU think? They spent 45 minutes signing a never ending pile of papers while the realtor and home mortgage consultant tried to explain the details of each page before both An Iowa Mom and An Iowa Dad could scribble their John Hancock and date it.
THE INTERNET: Hmmmm ... obviously, they bought a house.
AN IOWA MOM: Well ... yes, we did. However, we already owned a perfectly good home that we hadn't sold.
THE INTERNET: That sucks, An Iowa Dad must have gotten transferred for his job and they needed to move ASAP. It's too bad they didn't sell their house. If the company transferred them, surely, they'll buy it.
AN IOWA MOM: Yeah, nice thought. But no ... no job transfer. We just decided to move ... in December, right before Christmas, before our existing house sold. Doesn't everyone do that?
THE INTERNET: I get it now. They have 4 growing kids. They needed a bigger house with more room for their family. That makes complete sense. Doing what you need to do for your children. What thoughtful parents, risking everything so their children don't have to share bedrooms any longer. I am liking An Iowa Mom better already.
AN IOWA MOM: I'm flattered you think enough of me to actually entertain the thought of me purchasing a second home before the first one was even sold, solely for the reason that my sweetie pie's would no longer have to share a bedroom with a sibling ... but ... HA! Not the case. The second home is actually not much larger than the first ... and the kiddos will still be required to split a room with one of their siblings.
THE INTERNET: DUH ... why didn't I get this before? Their neighbors BLOW and they feel the desperate need to GET OUT. Get out while they can. So obvious ... I can't believe I didn't get this before now.
AN IOWA MOM: You'd think ... BUT, we LOVE(d) all of our neighbors and actually the second house was only about 2 blocks from the first.
THE INTERNET: What the fuck? Are you INSANE??? Why the hell would you move, especially before your current house sold? What in God's name is wrong with you????
AN IOWA MOM: CONGRATULATIONS!!! You finally got it. We were fucking nuts. A house two blocks away, pretty much the same size, though the new house has a much larger yard (very important for a family with 4 small children I might add). We took the risk. Bought it, uprooted our entire family 5 days before Christmas, to move across the neighborhood for virtually no reason except ... we wanted to ... because we are INSANE ... INSANE I TELL YOU!
One year later ... I laugh at our craziness. We did finally sell the other house only 3 months after purchasing the one we are currently in and all worked out. My children are so happy, as they have made another great group of friends. So, not only do they still have their "old" group just 2 blocks away, they now have a "new" group and LOVE IT! They take the "old" and bring in the "new" and they've got a fabulous football team that plays in our backyard almost everyday after school ... and it brings a smile to my face with every "hike" and "tackle" ... and I know we did the right thing.
Home Sweet Home ... it is ... insanity or not!