Home is where the heart is

Just a little house update for everyone. I can't remember where we left off with the sale of our house, but we've had the inspection and appraisal done and things are moving forward. Our close date is (fast!) approaching and Jason and I have been all over the place with the question of "where are we going to go next?" We have had a pretty wide search area that was basically all of Boston's metrowest: Belmont, Lexington, or Newton ideally, but extended to include Weston, Wayland, Needham, Wellesley and Natick. Sundays have been spent at open houses and we even checked out the Watertown Mews in case we couldn't find a new home. Spending the winter in a luxury apartment with no shoveling and a free indoor gym with free yoga didn't sound too bad to me.

My main sticking point with moving has been facing the loss of my current commute. It is 2.1 miles, I drop Ashton off at preschool on the way, I then get to pick him up at 12, bring him home and have lunch, see Alex etc. When I leave work at 4:30 pm, I am home by 4:40. This aspect of my life as a mom has been one of the single greatest things. Plus our nanny Jen lives two streets away and she has single-handedly kept me sane by always being there when I need her, even if it's for 30 minutes.

So you can understand that every time Jason wanted to go see a house in Natick (where he was convinced our next home would be), I would trudge along, arms crossed and remind him, "But I'm not moving to Natick."

Yes, Natick has great schools. Yes, and tons of shopping. Yes, it is super family friendly. Yes, there is Memorial Beach and Lake Cochituate and farms and everyone who lives there loves it. But it's, like, far! That monstrous fact, plus that there were no houses that even remotely spoke to me, meant I was simply not moving there. In my heart I truly thought we would be renting, because there isn't really a lot on the market right now in any of the towns we had targeted (unless our budget was a million dollars, which it wasn't).

Until. UNTIL...last Thursday, another house in Natick came on the market. In typical fashion, I sighed and agreed to go see it. But I wasn't moving there!

Well, we went on Friday and let me say, despite it's geographic location, this was our home. There was simply no question about it. It has almost everything I could ever list in "wants" for a house. We had an offer in on Saturday and by that night, it was accepted. September 30 close date for both our current house and our new one. That won't be stressful at all! (Ha.) Before that though, we still have a lot to get through: inspection, appraisal, P&S, finalizing Edenfield Ave, etc. Things are always busy around here! But I feel really good about this decision. The house is in a great neighborhood, the boys can ride their bikes in the street, it's perfect for trick-or-treating, and the bus stop is a 5 minute walk (they will go to Bennett-Hemenway, or Ben-Hem, 1 of 5 elementary schools in Natick). Our neighborhood is the second to last stop on the route. Ashton has two more years of preschool but the thought of him on a school bus is enough to turn me into a puddle of tears. Pushing that out of my mind right this instant.

I don't know what I am going to do about Ashton's preschool situation. He could technically stay where he is and drive with me a few days a week (his preschool is a mile from Bentley). Or I could find him a new one, along with a new pediatrician, new dentists, new grocery store, new everything. There are a lot of things to be figured out. Luckily, Jen is not one of them; she said she will make the trip and stay with us.

So that leaves just one more thing: my commute. The way I look at it is, this house is worth another 20 minutes of driving to get to. Sometimes I actually wish my drive to Bentley were longer so I could call my mom, finish a radio program, or just relax in the quiet time of being in between home and work. This house will give me that so for now, I'm staying positive about it.

Inspection is Friday. Crossing my fingers it all goes well and if it does, our hearts are going where the home is: Natick MA. Can't believe it. Stay tuned!