After days of boxes and movers, The Gentleman and I finally vacated our beloved little home in the country last week. We have buyers for the house and our closing agreement had us moving out a few weeks before we actually fly to Hawaii because the buyers themselves are inbound from the West coast and needed to settle in quickly. And so, I spent several hours carefully lining up long-term stay hotels as temporary housing so we’d have somewhere to rest our heads without paying an arm and a leg.
On our first night in temp housing we had a lesson learned: when it comes to long-term stay hotels in military towns, one should just spend the money. We slept in a tiny room, with a tinier bathroom, extremely loud neighbors (really enjoyed hearing the f-word repetitively at 3:00 a.m.) and possible felony activity in the parking lot. I swear I heard a shotgun fire. No really. It wasn’t a backfire. PCS’ers – if you’re headed to Ft. Bragg, give me a call – I think there’s really only one good hotel and I’m happy to share it!
Even Violet was depressed in our first hotel room. Can you see the icky comforter under her?
After three nights snuggled up in avoiding the ancient comforter and foam pillows, we embarked on a road trip for the mountains. My parents have a great home in the Blue Ridges that overlooks Grandfather Mountain and the cool air and quiet were just what we needed. Didn’t hurt to sleep in a clean comfy bed and not be awakened by screaming kids or drunk soldiers either. I can’t really describe how much I’ll miss these mountains when we’re gone. Lesson learned: The mountain view is worth 4.5 hours in the car with a pissed off cat.
Maybe one day, a farm in the mountains?
On Sunday night we loaded that cranky cat back into the car and drove to our next temporary home: Raleigh. Y’all, I am so happy to be able to spend a few last days in this much-loved city of mine. I came to my senses after our first hotel and booked us in a Residence Inn and we are so much happier. Our suite is huge, clean, quiet and within walking distance to Trader Joe’s. The best part? It’s actually cheaper* than that crappy hotel in Fayetteville. Lesson Learned: During peak moving season on a military base, book hotels in a nearby city. Cheaper. Nicer.
Thanks to Trader Joe's for making our hotel room a home.
On Tuesday, we were scheduled to close on our house. Now, I know closings are often delayed and such, but yesterday we received word that the process has a major roadblock (through no fault of our own). I won’t go into details since this whole thing’s a legal process, but here we sit, 12 days from moving away from NC and we may still be saddled with our house. Clearly, on top of all the other crappola we’re juggling (I’m looking at you, Directv), this was not welcome news. I cried. And then I prayed. I asked God to make us lean into him, to work in this situation for gis glory and to let gis will be done. And he chuckled and told me that he’s got this. He reminded me of all the things in my life that have started with tears and ended just perfectly. He reminded me that he’s always been right in the thick of whatever I’m going through, though I usually can’t really see him until later. Lesson Learned: It’s sort of cute when I think I’ve got everything under my control and that I’ve planned for every contingency, but of course it’s God who’s piloting this plane.
*Note to Army PCS’ers – You only get 5 days TLA on the front-side of your move so keep that in mind when setting a closing date on your house…we’re paying the rest out of pocket!
