Sale of the WA House

Dan and I both agree that on a sunny day... Washington might be the most beautiful place we've ever lived. With neighborhood views of Mt. Rainier and Mt. Baker... the endless, towering trees that seem to be covered in a dreamy blanket of moss year round... mornings that started with fog blankets sitting low in the valley but resting on the trees leading up into the foothills. It seemed every direction has a beautiful view that could take your breath away and make you realize how really small we are in this grand scheme of life and all that *is*.

Dan and I also realized, fairly quickly, after moving to Washington that we would not be there long term. It just wasn't for us. I think our hearts were left behind in California. I think... maybe I even felt like we left little Matteo's soul behind.

The constant gray sort of put an exclamation point on the feelings on just *knowing it wouldn't be our forever home*. When you grow-up, or live somewhere for 12 years that sees the sun at least 300 days a year to a place that sees the sun less than half of that... it's a mental challenge. Or, I should say - it was for us.

People say the Seattle rain is a deal breaker.

It wasn't for us. It was the gray skies. The rain just put the exclamation mark on it.

We loved our home. We loved our neighborhood and community. We loved the schools our children attended. We loved the activities/facilities we were involved with. And, we loved the newfound friendships that we had built with a few people.

But, we just couldn't envision us planting our roots any deeper there. We decided that living in a place where we see the sun regularly really IS important to us. We like warm climates. We missed California and all that it offers with beaches and mountains and family vacations and trails to run, hike and explore... not to mention the fact that we deeply missed the family, friends and professional networks we left behind.

We decided it was time to put the house up for sale. If we were going to move - we wanted to do it sooner, rather than later... and get on with our life and planting roots for our family.

We put the house up for sale ourselves. Our rationale being that we could save some money by doing it ourselves, and we weren't in any hurry. We figured that if it took over a year to sell... Rocco would have the benefit of having the same kindergarten teacher that Gabby had, and that would be worth staying in gloomy WA another year.

I staged the house. I took the photos. Dan took care of all the legal and broker details. And, much to our surprise... we sold the house in just over 2 months. We never held one open house. We showed the house to inquiries only and had about 10 families total do walkthrough's. Of course, it was never at a convenient time. It always seemed like Dan was out of town and I was scrambling to get the house in tip-top condition and oh-by-the-way, disappear with 4 kids for however long.

We had 2 months from sale contract (May 11) to the close of our sale (July 18). So, the race was on to find a new home. Dan and I both made multiple day trips down to CA to scout homes in our new target city. We finally put an offer on a home at the end of June. This was quickly followed by a race to get 2 children registered at the new elementary school, etc. Oh, and PACKING. Packing with 4 young children is super fun. SUPER. FUN.

The move was sad for Gabby...she was devastated to be leaving her friends. This was heartbreaking to me. She had such a great group of girlfriends at school. And, she was tight with her gymnastics teammates as well. I knew the move would be the most difficult for her. I frequently reminded her that we could keep in touch with all her friends via Skype, email and snail mail.

Rocco was leaving behind one very good friend who just happened to be a neighbor. They would spend every day (the entire day!) on their bikes... biking between our houses, shooting their guns while biking, playing in the yard, snacking, and just hanging out how little boys do. His name was Reid and they were self-proclaimed *best buddies*. Oh, and Giuliana had a huge crush on Reid too. And, Reid was seriously the sweetest, big-hearted, giant kindergartener I've ever known (next to Rocco, of course!). They were a perfect match!

And, I was also leaving two very special friendships (which I cherish just as much as friendships from my childhood). And, thank goodness for text messaging because we remain the *mommy text network* (per Dan)... frequently texting and laughing about the constant comedy in our lives as each of us has 3+ children, and so many stories every day we could start our own comedy show. So, we just *get* each other so much.

July 18th approached a lot faster than I had anticipated. And, since our new home in CA was under construction... the road to living in our next house was not going to be fast OR easy.

4 Years without Matteo

Sometimes... there are just no words.

I was not sure it would be possible... but missing you more than ever, sweet Matteo Tate. I love you so much baby boy and I hope you can see our candles from Heaven tonight and feel our love each and every day.  
 
Four years, four glassybaby's to light..."believe", "angel", "forever", and "love".

"What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us." ~ Helen Keller

“And can it be in a world so full and busy, the loss of one weak creature makes a void in any heart, so wide and deep that nothing but the width and depth of eternity can fill it up.”

– Charles Dickens

“Difficult times have helped me to understand better than before, how infinitely rich and beautiful life is in every way, and that so many things that one goes worrying about are of no importance whatsoever...”

-- Isak Dinesen

“If there ever comes a day when we can't be together;

Keep me in your heart, I'll stay there forever.”
~Winnie the Pooh