That's how you know you're busy, when you forget your own wedding is a week away!
You might have guessed, we closed on our house this week! It was quite an ordeal getting to that point. I have been bugging the bank and the lawyer for two weeks about when we would close, what closing costs would be, how I would get the money in my savings account into a place where I could use it for a down payment, etc. And I kept hearing, "We'll let you know when we get this-or-that document." The first issue of the week was that my savings account is with Wells Fargo, and there are no branches in western NY, and they can't wire money between banks unless I come in and sign in person. Well, at four and a half hours to the closest branch, that wasn't an option. After calling several people with no luck, I finally suggested to someone that I could transfer money from savings to checking, write a check to myself (I also have a checking account with Wells Fargo), and then deposit that check in my First Home Club account. "Oh yeah, that would work," said the manager of the bank, who couldn't seem to figure out that simple solution on her own. (Oy...) So then to figure out how much to transfer: I looked at the estimated closing costs, took the highest possible amount, and then added a couple thousand dollars, just to be sure, giving myself a $2500 cushion for the down payment. I was set. I went on with my life, trying to be a pastor, prepare to be gone from work for two weeks, and also trying to pack my house and make sure things were in place for the wedding.
Wednesday, closing day, came around. I had checked on Tuesday for the final amount, and they still didn't have it, so I couldn't get a bank check for the down payment. They said they would email me on Wednesday. I was more tightly wound on Wednesday than I ever remember being. I was practically shaking all day. My computer would make the "you've got mail" sound and I would feel like a weight had been dropped on my shoulders: "Not something else to attend to!" I wasn't stressed so much as I was just trying to hold too many things in my head at once, and I could not take the pressure. After a visit with a parishioner, I went home to do some final packing, since we had planned to start moving stuff over that very night (the movers came on Thursday). Closing was scheduled for 4:00, so at quarter to 4, I went out to my car... and realized then that I had never heard from the lawyer about how much I owed, and hence had never acquired a check! *Expletives* Of all the things not to have!
I called the lawyer, who said, "I sent you an email this morning, didn't you get it?" No! (I also did not receive the email from the lawyer telling me when closing was, by the way, and only learned that information from being a nag! Perhaps they need to check my email address??) She told me the final amount, and off I went to the bank, trying to hold my already unraveled self together for this very important task. As I had been instructed, I filled out a withdrawal slip with the correct information, and went to the teller. She looked up my account, and said, "Um... you are short." What?! Apparently I was about $450 shy, even with my $2500 cushion that I had checked 5 times and had Michael and my realtor check! How?? I went over it one more time in my head and the only variable piece was the grant. I said, "Are you sure the grant has been applied?" She wasn't. But that, she said, needed to be approved and it was a whole process and I needed to sit down with someone and... I tried to stay as calm as possible. "Okay, so the deal is," I said, "that I am supposed to be closing on a house right now. I need this to happen as quickly as humanly possible." "Let me get my manager," she said. I ended up talking to our mortgage originator. The grant HAD been applied, but it turned out that the sellers' lawyer had accidentally charged us double for school taxes - over-charged us by $3800!! Slight miscalculation! So they are going to refund us that money. Meanwhile, I wrote myself another check to make up the difference and everything was good, and now we're going to suddenly come by $3800 in refund which will be a welcome return from the honeymoon. Thankfully, my church decided to pay me early this month because of all my expenses, and so I had just deposited my paycheck! Phew!
So off I ran to my car, and plugged into my GPS the address of the lawyer's office... and my GPS couldn't find the address! And with that, I finally broke down, right there in the Family First parking lot. Great big tears and several swear words and yelling. I called Michael, who stayed very calm, and talked me through the directions, stayed on the phone with me directing me the whole way until my phone's battery died. Once I got to closing, it was pretty fast - we were done in half an hour! And everyone was very understanding, and it was actually a fairly pleasant experience. My hand didn't even get sore. :)
So then began the moving. Some kind church people came over with the van and truck and hauled a bunch of my boxes over, and Michael had some guys from work helping him. The next day, the movers came and took all my big stuff (I still haven't quite finished packing all the little stuff), then went to Michael's and got his big stuff, then brought it into OUR HOUSE!
We were utterly amazed at these mover guys from Sheridan Brothers. So strong, so efficient, and such nice guys! We were joking around with them, and got them some treats to munch on. And the cost ended up not being too bad, for as long as it took them (extra stop at Michael's, and several large pieces of furniture that took extra long to move up and down stairs). But I tell you, they were worth every penny.
After the moving finished, the next big moment occurred: we introduced Klaus to his new house. He had been in his crate all day, poor thing, and very confused with all the strange men taking stuff out of his house. So now we went back to my apartment and got my sweet pooch. Here's Klaus on his way to his new house. He even put on his pink bow tie for the occasion.
Klaus was fascinated by the new house, especially the attic and basement. He has been exploring pretty much nonstop since he arrived. He also very much likes his yard, and the neighbor kids are his new best friends. When we brought over his crate and bed the next day, he was so excited. He sniffed at them, and curled up in them, and played with his toys and looked at us like, "My stuff! You brought my stuff!" Oh, we love that boy.
Lucky for me, I'm marrying a very handy dude, so when the washer and dryer didn't fit down the stairs to the basement, he went to work deconstructing the handrail. The next day, he went to work deconstructing the wooden bar in the basement, and connecting everything that needs connecting, and figuring out how to wire our house, and how to change some of the electrical outlets. All this he did while I worked on setting up our kitchen and making our house full of crap look and function like a home. When I need Michael to put something closer to the top of his priority list, I tell him so, and he takes care of it. We are a pretty good team!
Actually, Michael had the first idea about how to make our house a home. We put all the boxes in what will become my sewing room, and the living room is now in some sort of order, so there is one room in the house that is not chaotic, and we can go there when we need to calm down. I rather like it, actually!
So, it's a work in progress. The kitchen is mostly done, Michael has been hard at work on the basement, the living room is fine, the dining room and sewing rooms are disasters, the upstairs is good enough to live in, and we will do more after the wedding. We have told each other several times through this process how much we love each other, and how grateful we are to be on the same team, working together on this big endeavor. What a wonderful teammate he is! The very best, as far as I can tell.
As for now, I have enjoyed sitting still for a few moments to write this blog. Thanks for the excuse!
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