Up, Down, Up, Down, UP!!!

What a week! I feel like we have been riding a rollercoaster but came off flying!

Up: Kate is registered for Kindergarten. Her school is darling—Purefoy Elementary School. We get to go to “Meet the Teacher” night this Thursday to, yes, meet the teacher, her classmates, and tour the school. We went school supply shopping and ordered a backpack and a few school clothes. Why do I still get so excited over new crayons and school clothes?

Down: I had to drive out to the school three times this week before I remembered all the right forms and documents. If anyone has seen my brain, let me know.

Up: The clouds came! I have decided that clouds rolling into Texas is what sunshine breaking through the clouds is to the rest of the world. We ran outside, danced around, went to the playground, and delighted in the cooler temperature.

Down: The walls of the bachelor pad are closing in on me. I have really tried to make the best out of this situation. I have made some really good salt & pepper dinners. I have scrubbed this place until it is shining. I don’t pay attention to the layer of slime on the bottom of the pool or freak out when I have to scoop bananas, bread, cigarette butts, and bugs out of the pool before we jump in. But, I’m ready to move on! Sunnies don’t like idly existing in limbo!

Up: Kate jumped into the swimming pool. This may not seem like a great accomplishment without knowing the background. I put the girls in swimming lessons this summer so they would be comfortable with water when we made the move to Dallas. The first day Kate jumped off the diving board without any hesitation. The next day she would have none of it! For the next week she could not get up the courage to jump in, even from the side. Being the sensitive mother that I am, I started getting a little frustrated. I offered her rewards. I even pushed her in once. Then as I was talking to her one day, she looked up at me with a certain expression and I realized that my constant nagging had hurt her. She was doing great with the swimming. Why did I care so much about jumping off the side? I mended my ways and shifted the focus to what she was doing well. This week she said, “Mom, can I jump off the side?” She jumped 5 or 6 times. Then I had her jump in and swim to me. Before we got out she was jumping in and swimming to the stairs. Good things kids can excel in spite of their parents.

Big Down: The appraisal on our house came in really low. On top of that, it was a very sloppy appraisal. Our realtor was having a fit. A low appraisal is one thing, but a sloppy low appraisal is another. You all know how well I do with sloppy. Anyway, the bank said they would only lend us the amount of the appraisal which left us having to come up with a significant bit of cash, not something we are floating in just now. We tried to get the bank to redo the appraisal. No luck. I tried to keep my chin up as I saw our house, Kate’s school, and reprieve from life in the bachelor pad slipping away.

Flying: Thanks to the efforts of our realtor and, mostly, unexplainable blessings from Above, the sellers ended up coming down to the amount of the appraisal—lower than our original offer. We had to give up the BBQ, the rug, the patio furniture and the curtains, but, hey, I’ll take it! We electronically signed the amended document last evening while sitting on a pile of cardboard boxes in Home Depot. Then we looked at each other with a mixture of relief, gratitude, disbelief and excitement and kissed—right there in public!

Here’s hoping for a gentle landing this week!