Leap of Faith
It was December 31st, 2017 and my husband and I were in Camden, Maine for a night away without the kids. We sat on a tufted leather sofa in the hotel bar in front of a crackling fire and reflected on the year past and our plans for the future as the clock edged closer to midnight. We talked about the projects we wanted to get done on the house, the trips we wanted to take and life in general. It was one of those nights that I felt like we had it all together. Not even a month later, January 25th 2018 to be exact, a new home listing sent our lives on a completely different path. We weren't planning on moving. Those hours we spent talking on New Years Eve about the future, not one word was spoken about moving. But, there it was, what looked like our forever home. Ken was working that night so I texted him the listing. Three days later we went to the open house and 45 days after that, we owned it. I'm still not sure how we did it.
I've been thinking about this lately as the market continues to move lighting fast and big decisions have to be made in a nanosecond. Sometimes I feel bad for buyers and then I remember my experience. Our house wasn't listed, it wasn't show ready, I hadn't done Title V. Our timeline for listing was so quick I couldn't even get my favorite photographer for my own house. Getting our home show ready in a matter of days was a daunting task because I’m a perfectionist and there wasn’t time for perfection. Our basement and attic were cluttered, my son’s room looked like a lego bomb went off and I had several unfinished painting projects. It was a great lesson in letting go of the little things that don’t matter. I'm an overthinker, I analyze everything and if I had time to really weigh all the pros and cons I might not have acted and that would have been a huge mistake. I LOVE where we are now. Buying this house has been one of the greatest blessings for our family but I know that if I had time to think with my head and not my heart, I might have missed it. Uncertainty breeds fear. Fear can be paralyzing and lead to indecision. I'm not saying to act with reckless abandon and make decisions that are not financially sustainable. I'm just saying that sometimes it's okay to take a leap of faith and listen to your heart.