Three things I learned this week:
House buying-selling is exhausting. You are required to live up to a neatness standard that only a fugal nun without possessions (and cats) could do. Having a pandemic doesn’t help either. Pass me the bible and the rosary. Oh, that was packed. At least the Clorox is still out.
People be nuts. Ok, I knew this already but this includes today’s kids. My house was rejected by a couple who loved everything about it but the bedrooms weren’t all the same size. We have one that is smaller. By smaller I mean 10 foot by 12 foot. Their kids would fight about who got the smaller one. Perhaps those kids need a week with my dearly departed mother to understand how good they have it. As of this morning (Thursday) the house hasn’t sold but there has been lots of activity. Most of it requiring me to be out of the house so posting will be erratic (again, not erotic although…).
In addition to all this and covid-19, there is a backdrop of insurrection going on that I don’t have the energy for. Did I see it coming? Yes, indeed. You can’t have a raging lunatic running your country without negative outcomes. Ask any banana republic.
Vintage moms. They knew how to point out how good things were.
Hang in there!
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Both my mother and ME would agree about today’s kids. I was more from the “kids should be seen and not heard” era. No rights – rights, what were those? I remember my boss saying to me one time that he and his wife didn’t go somewhere on a holiday because their 10-year-old (at that time) didn’t want them to go there. I never got a choice or any opinion on anything!
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Back then parents made decisions based on what was good for the whole family. It wasn’t a democracy and for a very good reason. I may have voiced my opinion and I’m sure they considered any impact on me (big ones like school changes and such) but they made the decision. There was no catering.
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Agree with you … I don’t think I was ever asked my opinion and I was told to never repeat what was said in the house. As an only child I could not compare my treatment to an older sibling and I was raised very strictly.
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The kids run the show! I saw a clip of a BRILLIANTmother tell her ungrateful kid in the supermarket “I’ve lived in this world without you, you haven’t lived in it without me.” I think everyone over a certain age silently applauded, while the others were horrified.
Good luck!
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My mother would threaten to sell me to the gypsies. (No they never came through our area.) I should have abandonment issues. Maybe it explains my attraction to cats.
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Hahaha! I got that line too! Not knowing what a gypsie was, I stopped in my tracks.
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The kids would fight over the rooms? Who’s in charge here? The youngest gets the smallest room. It’s always been that way, since the dawn of time.
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That’s what I thought but evidently that will ruin them for life forcing lifelong therapy. A week with my mom would fix things.
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I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t even have occurred to my littlest sister to argue about having the smallest room, because That Is The Way Of Things.
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Amen. I’m just a cat and even I understand that human needs to be impeached and his co-conspirators tossed out on the butts. And same with the little humans. Can someone say ungrateful and spoiled? God bless you and hope you get through it.
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Cats are very smart.
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Thanks, I like to think so.
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Here’s hoping it sells quickly and with no hassles! Then you will get to enjoy moving in at your new house 🙂
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Yes but there is work at the new place. It takes time to make it your own.
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True, but that’s usually a little less stressy than trying to sell.
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That is true! I want to sleep a week after I move. 🙂
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OMG, I know! We are starting to think about a move, and just thinking about it makes me want to sleep.
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I agree with assertion that we could see violence and insurrection coming. I’m deeply disturbed, but I’m not surprised. And to be up in the air with your own plans right now must only add to emotional fatigue. I’m hoping your house sells very soon! I watch the home-selling/buying shows on HGTV and shake my head all the time at people who are upset because “the foyer isn’t big enough,” or they don’t like the colors. The right family will love your beautiful home!
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The right buyer is someone with a love of privacy and outdoors. Our house is lovely but for me the draw is that it’s the only completely private property in the development. We back up to a water retention area (that rarely gets water) so we are not looking into a neighbor’s yard. Someone will value that.
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I know I would love that, Kate!
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I’m sure it will be sold soon but, right now, it must be very frustrating to have to keep your house looking unlived in. As far as what in going on in Washington, it’s hard to articulate the sickness and unease I’m feeling. As I saw on a twitter quote this morning: “So, Trump has access to the nuclear codes but he can’t Tweet or post on Facebook.”
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Yep, that’s about it. It all is unsettling.
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Good grief, I can’t believe they were dumb enough to actually say that about the bedrooms. There are so many face-saving ways not to be interested in a home. Hang in there, Kate. – Marty
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I thought it was funny but if you’ve got the money and the time you can continue looking for a perfect home with 4 equally sized bedrooms! 🙂
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Seriously? Who is running that family? Oh, the kids. That’ll work out well.
Kind of like having a toddler President who throws temper tantrums being repeatedly appeased by conspiracy theories from right-wing white men.
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Different strokes! I can’t believe he had so many enablers. No spines.
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None. And it all started with his older sister doing his homework!
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“You are required to live up to a neatness standard that only a fugal nun without possessions (and cats) could do.” So true! I don’t know how people with children can do it. Hang on…the right buyer will walk through your door soon.
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Ditto what Jill said! Patience is a virtue.
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Yes and patience is not one of my fortes! Oh yes and Gracie has a hairball that hasn’t come up yet. She barfed twice yesterday between showings *whacks head on table* At least I was able to clean it up. Don’t know how people with kids do it. I once went through a house and the home owner came home early. She was horrified that her son had cereal and put his bowl and spoon in the sink. I never picked up on it. People live there. Gonna happen.
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Once upon a time we bought a house that while we went through the house the teenage son snuck into the kitchen to make himself toast. We could smell the bread all through the downstairs. When his mother, who was also there in the house, caught him I thought she was going to murder him on the spot. We didn’t care because like you said, people live in the house. Whatevs.
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We had 3 showings yesterday, two over the dinner time. I decided to make baked breaded chicken earlier in the day because it’s easy and is good cold or heated up. I was done well before the showings but that smell of chicken wafted through the house when I got home after the showings were complete. I hoped it didn’t discourage a vegan from buying it.
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Oh dear. I’d not care about chicken-y scent, but you raise a good point. People can be weirdly fussy. Fingers crossed this was not the case for you.
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I hear 2 people are interested from the showings this week. We’ll see how this goes.
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Glad you’re getting activity, and it looks like they lost the proximity of their school. They’ll probably look back and regret that. Fingers still crossed.
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I don’t think of our home as a kid’s home but it’s much bigger than the one I was raised in. It was a surprise to see what attracted the first groups to come through. The location is convenient and it’s the most private home in the development which is what I thought would be the draw.
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It seems that in most homes these days kids rule the roost and parents are simply providers. Growing up in my parents house there was no doubt who had the last word. We could give our opinion and maybe there would be some discussion. Then we did as told. And there had better be no whining or complaining.
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My brothers were very much older than me. Really a generation at 16 and 18 years older so there wasn’t traditional sibling rivalry. I try not to judge. It’s different for sure.
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Ugh, Kate! I am so happy that the age demographic for selling our house in MO and the condo here were mature adults. I don’t think I could have dealt with families that were concerned over the size of a bedroom for a child. People do be crazy. The backdrop of the insurrection is truly another exhausting layer of stress for you during an already stressful time. My fingers are crossed and my thoughts are hopeful that you see a contract very soon. Hang in there, Kate!
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It’s early yet so I’m hopeful. Houses in this neighborhood turn over fairly fast but not over night. Fingers crossed.
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It is exhausting all around. Wishing you a quick and smooth move to your new home. As for the backdrop of insurrection, I truly have no words.
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There are no words!
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Kids today, are spoiled. I like a house that looks lived in, but have you seen the videos these kids, and some adults post? They are like hoarders. “Everything in it’s place” is lost on them.
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They certainly wouldn’t like a realtor going through!
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I have been watching your shenanigans in Washington and I am glad I live the other side of the Atlantic. No we don’t admire your democracy. I hope you get back to business as normal soon. We are in tier 5 lockdown. (We did not even know there was a tier 5. ) with freezing fog today and snow expected tomorrow.
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The pandemic should be the #1 topic on everyone’s mind these days.
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Maybe that’s what is wrong with Donald Trump ~> his parents stuck him in the small room and it warped his ego. 😯
Yesterday’s goings on at the Capital and his sociopathic/psychopathic incitement of the violence opened the eyes of a number of republicans who have been “humoring” him since he lost the election. They now see just how dangerous he is, causing them to back away from giving him continued support. Good. There was a mass exodus at the WH of aides who could no longer stomach being around him. Good. Biden will be inaugurated on 1/2/21. GOOD!
And GOOD LUCK to you!
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It’s a tumultuous time for sure. Not sure why anyone would humor him. Maybe he’s got something to leverage.
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It is exhausting. And surreal the expectations of the purchasers. And that’s without the underscoring discord of pandemic x insurrection!
Hang in there, Kate.
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The only way to the other side is through it!
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I hope the right one who loves it not as a house but as a home is there soon… the kids disaster reminds me ow my 3 cow-sins, they fought for the room with a balcony once and it was a kind of armageddon in the air… my aunt was the last (wo)man standing and said, guess what, this is MY room now… and the 3 warriors had to share one room at the end… karma?
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That sounds like what my mom would do! When I was a kid my room size was the last thing I worried about but I didn’t spend a lot of time in it. Maybe that’s the difference today. Kids retreat to their bedrooms with their electronics. Different times for sure.
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I love your thought that Kate’s home goes to the one that loves it as a home and not purchased as a house where the kids feel slighted over the size of their bedroom. We all know she has a beautiful porch and pond. I hope someone buys and appreciates it for those reasons.
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It takes a buyer who loves the outdoors because that’s where a lot of the good stuff is.
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I don’t know of too many houses where the bedrooms are all the same size. Is that how they are building them these days? My thoughts are if the kids don’t have room size to fight about they’ll just move on to something else…like proximity to the bathroom. That’s just what kids do and it’s up to the parents to manage this. And by manage I mean exert their authority and make some decisions that the kids need to abide by. Perhaps if parents squelched their kids bickering early on instead of pandering to it, we wouldn’t be seeing events like yesterday’s horror show in Washington happening.
Deb
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We have 3 large bedrooms and one smaller one. I thought that’s how they build a house but maybe not. In any case, they lose. It’s two blocks from the kids’ private school which is what has been attracting the first buyers. Everyone looks for something different. I’m finding that out!
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Amen on the banana republic lunatic and HOORAY for the house-peeking activities. Interest is there – now it just needs to be the RIGHT interest and that’s gonna happen. Let’s hope sooner v. later. Hang in there………….this too shall pass!!
Hugs, Pam
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Yes and soon. I’m getting grumpy! I miss my alone time and there is a sense of violation when people come through your house. I should set up cameras to watch them! (No, I wouldn’t go to the trouble but it’s a thought)
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